Genius: The Next Generation
by RivalsAreAllies
Summary: New enemies and old friends come together in an EPIC showdown. Jimmy thinks that he's lost, that he's done. And he's never wrong. So someone will have to prove him wrong. Can the next generation achieve the impossible? The past holds nothing but mistakes, but sometimes mistakes make the best teachers...and the best allies. It is time for the future to fight for the past. J/C S/L
1. Part I, Chapter1: Start of Something New

**_Disclaimer_****: I do not own Jimmy Neutron, any affiliates, or any rights to the show, movies, literature, or merchandise.**

**_Before-You-Read Background:_**** This BOLD, "_Pre-Story Pretext_," is my important, intrinsic, "_Before-You-Read Background,_" and these "_Before-Chapter-Author-Notes_," will almost ALWAYS contain UPPER-CASE Letters, of SOME sort. Proper grammar, and other things are used CORRECTLY in these "Pretext Prologues," though. …And while you should know that, you should also know that the ACTUAL STORY WILL contain GREAT spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage-and-mechanics, syntax, and semantics. Reading/RETAINING the NEXT portion of BOLDED text of IMPORTANT INFORMATION is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! **

**_NOTICE/NOTES: _****Reading my story, "_GTNG Ongoing OneShots_," is HIGHLY recommended. They are OneShots, that flow chronologically, in time-order, and they chronicle the chronological and past adventures of Jimmy, his friends, and their children, and thus it explains and elaborates on some of the things mentioned in this FanFic. However, reading that story is NOT necessary to understand THIS story, as everything is adequately explained and elaborated here as well.**

**_IMPORTANT INFO:_**** This ENTIRE STORY takes-place, AFTER the series-finale, of the show, "_Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius_," and it takes-place in a DIFFERENT Universe/Timeline, than my OTHER Jimmy-Neutron-FanFic, "_Fight to the Finish_." If you want to skip RIGHT into the part of the story, where the "_Background Info_," ENDS, and where the ACTUAL story begins, then feel free to SKIP to "_Part I, Chapter 4,_" of this story! "_Part II," _of this story, is where the story shifts, and focuses COMPLETELY on the CANNON-CHARACTERS of the show! "_Part I," _of this story will be the SHORTEST part of this story, and thus one can see that this will be a LOOOOONG FanFic, and the MAJORITY (APPROXIMATELY 90% Of It) WILL FOCUS on The "_Cannon-Characters_." However, if you want "_Important Info_," on my OCs, without having to read too much into "_Part I_," then I suggest skipping-to, "_Part I, Chapter 4_." Be warned, though, that if you do decide to skip ahead, that you MAY MISS important, enjoyable, and character-building and/or casting descriptions, details, and dialogue. Please don't get confused by this chapter, and note that this chapter is chalk-full of OCs, but the story will take a serious turn, and my OCs will play a huge part in that, so you should note that this story will FOCUS on the show's MAIN/CANNON cast of characters!**

**_Author's Amendment:_**** While the above statement is true, however, I do own an intellect and imagination that would CRUSH Neutron's mind! I will use said mind to create a story that, hopefully, anyone reading this work of "_Fan-Fiction_" will enjoy. Read, review, and enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Genius: The Next Generation<strong>

**A FanFic By: D. Raj David**

* * *

><p><strong>Part One: The Beginning of the End<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>I. The Start of Something New<strong>

The sunny splendor of Retroville was breathtakingly beautiful. It was a sunny, average, day in the suburban city of Retroville, and the students of its main institution of higher learning shuffled through the halls of Lindbergh High School, their day about to begin. The normality of the day would later come crashing down around them, however, as they would soon face a threat greater than they could have ever imagined.

A girl walked throughout the hallways, mind adrift with thoughts of clouded, confused feelings and an image of hazel eyes burned into her brain. She was a beautiful girl. Her hair was a pure and perfect blonde color with light natural brown highlights, and it leveled out at shoulder length, but was currently tied and held up in a ponytail. Her fair skin and radiant figure was something to be obviously admired—albeit from a distance, as she was prone to attack admirers who came too close.

She was clearly fit and athletic, a tell-tale sign that she was far swifter and stronger than the average female. However, her muscular form did not give her the appearance of an oversized "She-Hulk," like so many other girls that would have built their muscle mass on their arms, instead of their abdomen or lower back like the blonde had done. On the contrary, her musculature made her all the more attractive.

However, her personality was something else entirely. While her appearances were attractive, her attitudes and actions were atrocious and aggressive at best. She was just as brutal as she was beautiful. She was a deception, a walking paradox, a living oxymoron. She was a deathtrap.

Her sapphire eyes stared down continuously, as she maneuvered herself further down the hallway, and although her eyes were focused on her black and purple converse sneakers, she only saw that face. It was the face she always saw, and she knew exactly why she saw it.

Somewhere close by, a boy was walking at the other end of the hallway, an image of a beautiful sapphire-eyed girl melded in his mind. His thoughts were confused and hazy at best, and this was unusual because he always had a clear mind, but the face—_her _face—was ingrained in his brain, and he could concentrate on nothing else.

He was a boy of average weight and height with a thin muscular build and hair of an auburn color, perfectly mixed between blonde and brunette. His hair, spiked up, was lying flawlessly on top of an angelic face. His face was soft and welcoming, like a small child; however, his features were somehow also fierce and fearless, effortlessly combining the softness of an infant and the ferocity of a soldier in his facial expression.

His tanned milky skin and flawless face usually resonated confidence; however, today his demeanor told a clearly different story, one that said he was unsure and confused. His hazel eyes scanned the floor in front of him, not looking up, and not aware.

The two teenagers continued walking in opposite directions, toward each other, not realizing that their paths were about to cross, in more ways than one. The impact was imminent, and the looming collision was apparent to everyone in hallway, except the two on the crash course.

A young Hispanic boy with a skinny build and jet black hair looked on in amusement; beside him was his girlfriend of two years, Lacey Walldrop, a dark-haired, dark-skinned beauty, a look of amused anticipation on her face.

The impact was sudden and jarring, and although it lasted for only fractions of a second, it felt like hours passed by as the two collided and went flying, both in the opposite direction that they had previously been walking. They hit the floor with a '_THUD,'_ as they both quickly readjusted their senses and took head of their surroundings. The girl was the first to get up, her temper rising faster than her body did.

"What the _hell_, Watts?" the girl blared, rather angrily, as she addressed the boy. The boy, unlike his quickly angered counterpart, had not been so quick to gather his surroundings, and had not until now realized who he had hit.

"What are you talking about?" he spat in response, still a little dazed as he responded, looking up from the floor to make eye contact with his insulter.

"Why don't _you_ watch where you're going, Watts? I mean, honestly, do you _ever_ pay attention?" she shot back, still irritated, although her temper was dropping and her heart rate was slowing.

"I-I'm sorry. …And I _do_ pay attention; I was just, just—" the boy responded, helping himself up, still a little confused and embarrassed, but that was quickly passing.

"Just _what_?" the girl responded, somewhat amused annoyance in her raised voice, which could have easily been confused with an actual temper.

The boy knew her better than that though, and he chuckled slightly as he responded to her question, "I was _just_ distracted by something." he responded, lightly dusting himself off.

"Oh, really…? And just what could _possibly_ have distracted _you_, oh attentive one." she retorted, her voice dripping with smugness and sarcasm.

"Oh, I think _you_ know, Vortex." was his simple, level-headed response. He made direct eye contact with the girl as he said this, and his implication was clear, yet also cleverly covered up. The confidence he usually exhibited had now clearly returned as he continued his conversation with the girl.

"Vortex?" she asked, a little annoyed, playfully scowling at him.

"_What_? You can call me Watts, but I can't call you Vortex?" the boy responded.

"Watts _is_ your name. …Isn't it?" she asked, already knowing the answer. She slowly and sickeningly enunciated her words, so as to exploit every flaw in her opponent's reasoning.

"Well, _yeah_, but how come you can call me by last name, and I can't call you by yours?" he asked, using her logic against her.

"Of course you can. I wear my last name proudly." she stated, and her voice rang with the pride she had just mentioned.

"But I just _did_ use your last name, and yo—" the boy started, but he was cut-off by the girl's ready response.

"Yes, _but_ you know very well that isn't my _whole_ last name." she shot back, and at the same time, she held out her hand and motioned as if she wanted him to hand her something.

He knew what that gesture meant: she wanted him to admit his mistake and correct it; she had won the argument.

"I know… …But, but…" he trailed off.

"_But_…" she urged him on.

"But it's just that your _whole_ last name is _so_ long, and I—" the boy was, once again, cut-off by the girl's reasoning.

"It doesn't matter; it's _my _name, and I'm _proud_ of it. I will not have you butcher it. Say it correctly, or use the alternative." she challenged.

"Fine." the boy gave in. "I'm sorry, Jen. Happy?" he shot back, angry at his degrading defeat.

"Why, of course Ryan. …And I accept your apology." she retorted, cunningly and cutely shaping her mouth into an alluring smile and slightly wrinkling her nose. This made him loose his confidence and plunge his thoughts into a hazy mist once again. She _knew_ how to play him.

Ryan regained his focus, and he smirked, showing just enough of his pearly white teeth to send chills down her spine. Although she didn't show any sign of feeling this way, he knew he had caused her the same sensation he had felt only moments earlier. He could play that game to.

"I mean, honestly though, '_Neutron-Vortex_,' is just _way_ too much of a mouthful. Your parents just couldn't come to a compromise, could they?" he asked, jokingly.

She shrugged, "You have _no_ idea; they've got to be the two most stubborn people in the world," she started, in a tone of feigned and false annoyance, "but I wouldn't have it any other way." she finished with a smile, changing her tone from one of false annoyance to one of happiness. She had only just lately learned to stop being _so _angry, and her happy tone had only recently started showing itself.

This "_nice_" side of her was still a very new concept to Ryan, and her genuine kindness took him by surprise, but he quickly adjusted his attitude, by responding equally as cheerily. "Wow, so that's where you get it from, huh? Your dad must either be _boldly brave_ or _incredibly insane _to stand up to your mom, because she's like an assassin or something." Ryan chuckled in response.

"Like I said, you have _no _idea… _Wait_! You think _I'm_ stubborn?" she asked, as a tone of phony pain filled her voice. She knew he hated when she did that. He _knew_ that she wasn't truly insulted, but hearing her voice like that made him feel like he had just kicked a kitten.

"Yeah…i-in…in a good way, of course." he stammered out.

"I love your stubbornness, though. It makes you a strong person, which makes you better at challenging me, and thus, you keep me in check, and we _all_ know how much I need that." he replied, meaning every word he said.

Her reaction was delayed because she hadn't expected him to display such a blatant show of affection for her. "Wow…Ryan…that's, um, that's really sweet. Thank you." she finished.

"Ha, no problem; I meant every word." he started, nicely enough, but then he altered his tone slightly, until it held a hint of accusation in it as he finished his formerly flattering statement. "I wonder if Mrs. '_Neutron-Vortex_' is as good at manipulating emotions as _you_ are." he finished flatly.

"Yeah, well, once again, you have _no_ ide—" Jenny started saying, actually beginning to enjoy the conversation, before being interrupted by her brother.

"Hey, sis, I need like, um, let's see… …Only a _measly_ five dollars, so, would you mind, um… …Ya' know?" her brother finished his "amazingly articulated" monologue with some hesitancy, and he looked up at his older sister with a hopeful look. His completely brown hair covered enchanting emerald eyes plastered on a creamy face with a strong, austere, yet peaceful, expression made it difficult for her to deny him any request—and he _knew _it.

"Ughh, Jake, what is it now?" she asked, slightly annoyed, both at having to put her conversation with Ryan on hold, and at the fact that her brother was having more "money troubles." She seemed annoyed, but the truth was that she had _very_ soft spot for her brother, and he knew it.

"Well, you see… …Um… …Sarah kind of—" he started, but his choppy explanation was interrupted by his sister's slightly more annoyed voice. She had already inferred the rest of the information that her brother had failed to get out of his mouth.

"_SARAH_? Let me get this straight. _YOU_ want _MY_ money to impress an _AIRHEAD_ who makes my _GENIUS_ brother act like a brain-dead _IDIOT_?" she asked, but somehow managed to make it seem more like an accusation rather than a question.

"Well, yeah… …Um… …_Kind_ of…" he trailed off.

Jenny did not, in the least, care what girl her brother went after, but she absolutely hated girls that used boys to get whatever they want, and Sarah Heart was just such a girl. Her brother and herself were geniuses—_literally_, seeing as how both of their parents were, presumably, the two smartest humans to ever walk the Earth.

Sarah, however, made him act like a brain-dead idiot, and her brother _never_ had trouble around girls, but there was just _something_ about Sarah. That _something_ made Jake go head-over-heels for her and simultaneously made Jenny hate her all the more.

"Jake, you know how I feel about _her_." Jenny spat the last word vehemently.

"Jakey-Poo!" called a shrill, but somehow also attractive, voice from the down hall. A moment later, a tall, brunette-haired, amber-eyed, girl appeared at the location where Jake and his sister were talking.

"Wh-What?" Jake responded, somewhat surprised, but going but brain-dead once again. "H-Hey, um, S-Sh-Sarah…" he trailed off, awkwardly addressing the girl that had just recently appeared. He sounded unconfident and dumbstruck, and he _never_ sounded like that when talking to a girl.

"Well, what about that soda, huh?" Sarah asked, a little too demandingly, but still maintaining her attractive tone.

"Um, yeah… …S-Sure, but first I need…" he trailed off, looking pleadingly at his older sister.

"Ughh, you know what Sarah?" Jenny intervened on her brother's behalf.

"What is it _Neutrex_?" Sarah responded, hastily.

Before Jenny could comment on her newfound name combination, Ryan interjected.

"Hmmm, _Neutrex_… I _like_ it!" he responded enthusiastically, and Jenny shot him a death-glare that seriously almost killed him. He then proceeded to shut up.

"Listen, Sarah," Jenny continued, surprisingly level-headed, "my brother is a good guy, and quite frankly you don't deserve him, so maybe _you_ should try doing something for _him_, for a change, because you are the one who should be trying to earn _his_ affection." Jenny finished solemnly.

"I-I… …I _do_ appreciate him!" Sarah shot back, and she immediately stroked a gentle hand across Jake's cheek, and he shuddered at the touch.

As if on cue, another attractive female walked by Jake, and stopped to chat with him. His true nature of conversing with the opposite sex was then revealed.

"Hey, Lucy." he said coolly, addressing the beautiful, dark-haired, slightly tanned girl in front of him.

"Hey, Jake. How's it going?" she responded nonchalantly.

"Oh, you know: 'same-old, same-old.' So, would you care to grace me with your incredible intelligence, stupefying splendor, and/or breathtaking beauty, while I accompany you to class?" he asked, completely confidant, and under control of his mind and actions.

Jenny rolled her eyes. The intricate information gained from reading the dictionary wasn't a skill that was supposed to be used like this. But that is how Jacob Neutron-Vortex was using it.

"Um, sure." Lucy giggled attractively in response, taking his hand hers and leading him off to their first period class: "_AP Fundamental Quantum Theory_." Lucy was no idiot, as her choice of classes for her sophomore year suggested.

"See! Now that girl more-than-deserves Jake." Jenny started, suddenly feeling better about the situation. "Plus, _she_ isn't an _idiot_." Jenny finished plainly, aiming her fatal stare at Sarah as she spat the last words.

"GRRRR!" Sarah shrieked, as she stormed away from the sight of her latest defeat.

At this point Lacey, and her Hispanic boyfriend approached Jenny and Ryan, almost unnoticed by the two standing in the middle of the hall.

"Hey girl!" Lacey greeted her best friend.

"Oh, hey Lacey. Ha, did you see the look on her face!" Jenny replied to her friend with amusement.

"Oh, I know; that was great. You _always_ shut her down, and she _always_ gets mad; she _needs_ to get over herself!" Lacey said in slight annoyance.

"I dunno; I think it's kinda hot when a woman takes charge." the Hispanic said, his voice heavy in innuendo, as he waggled his eyebrows at his girlfriend. She giggled, Jenny rolled her eyes, and Ryan chuckled.

"Sean, you're an idiot." Lacey replied to his remark.

"Yeah, but I'm _your_ idiot." he retorted, smiling.

"Yes, yes you are." she said, and leaned in and kissed him quickly on the lips.

"What's up, '_Sean-Con_?'" Ryan said, addressing his friend, excitedly.

"What's good, '_Ry-Man_?'" his friend responded, just as excited as his colleague, and the two boys then engaged in an elaborate greeting: a series of fist-bumps, air pounds, foot-stomps, and a surprisingly complicated handshake.

"Sean-Con? Ry-Man?" Lacey and Jenny asked simultaneously, not wanting to believe the two boys were literally that lame.

The two girls looked at each other and shook their heads. The boys simply shrugged, embracing their "nerdyness."

"Well, what can I say? The affection a '_bromance_' is hard to show, and it is even _harder_ to maintain." Sean responded the girls' expressions. He sounded very philosophical and that was _very_ unlike him. The way he perfectly impersonated Dr. Phil made the girls lose themselves in laughter, even Jenny, and she wasn't too fond of his jokes.

"_BROMANCE?!" t_he girls responded in unison, not bothering to hold in their laughter.

Ryan put his hand around his friend, and smiled, saying, "You betchya!"

"Well, we should really make this a '_threesome_.'" an attractive dark-haired boy with an obvious muscular build interjected, putting his arm around both Sean and Ryan. He had been late to meet with his friends due to his intensive flirting with the girl that had just walked past the boys, blushing heavily.

"Of course; we could _never_ forget _you_, Collin." Ryan said, accepting his friend's embrace.

"Okay, Sean has a girlfriend, and Collin is a _massive_ player and gets _a lot_ of girls, but _YOU_?" Jenny asked, addressing the three boys, the last word directed at Ryan. "There is _no_ _proof_ that you are in fact _straight_, so I would refrain from the engaging in this '_bromance_,' if I were you." she finished, between fits of comical chuckling.

"Oh, I think we both _know _what the proof is that I'm straight." he said, smiling and making direct eye contact with her. She blushed slightly at this.

"I am _not_ a _massive_ player; I am an _average_ player." Collin responded to her earlier remark.

"Oh, please. Collin, your tendency to hit on anything that moves is incredible." she responded, eyeing him seriously.

"...Heh… …Heh, well, thank you." Collin responded, finally seeing her reasoning. "I didn't know that you paid _so much attention _to my flirting tactics." he said, waggling his eyebrows at her.

She rolled her eyes at his remark. "Get your mind out of the gutter, or I'll see to it that the _gutter_ is where the police will find your broken, _mangled_ body." she finished, her usual tone of aggressiveness and anger clearly showing itself.

"..." Collin simply stopped talking; he knew she wasn't kidding, and he desperately wanted his body in one piece—in order to hit on more girls.

The warning bell rang throughout then hallways, signaling that the children had but five minutes left before they would be late to their first class.

"Well, I guess we'll see you at lunch." Lacey said, saying goodbye to her friends, in a semi-sorrowful way.

"Yeah, see you guys." Ryan responded. The teens turned around, opened their lockers painted in electric blue, and grabbed what they needed to begin the day. They then split up into two separate groups.

Ryan and Jenny veered off together, both headed towards their first period class, "_AP Doctoral Science and The Effect It Has on the Mind_." Ryan was certainly not an idiot either. In fact, he was probably the only person in the school that was able to compete with Jenny's intellect—except for her brother of course, but he never showed his competitive side.

Sean wrapped his arm around Lacey, and Collin followed the couple as the three friends began to make their way toward their _average_ science class, "_Physics 101_."

"You two be nice, now, ya' hear?" Lacey called mockingly, and Jenny turned around and rolled her eyes at her friend, catching the undertone in her voice. Lacey winked at Jenny in response, and the two groups dispersed towards their classes.

Lacey knew everything about her friend from the inside-out, including who her current crush was—although this crush had developed years before.

The five friends made their way to their designated classes. Their school day had begun. But the peace of this small town wouldn't last for long.

**A/N: This is the first chapter of hopefully a _LONG_ and _ENJOYABLE_ story. There will be some twists and turns, romance, drama, and action. In case you haven't noticed, I LOOSELY based Jenny, and her group, after the original group of Jimmy's friends; however, they are all their OWN PERSON. This story will _NOT _only include OCs and the main characters of the show will be introduced shortly. If you just read this chapter, and you haven't yet read beyond this chapter, then please take a moment to process this chapter and review it. Then, after you have fully accepted the cliffhanger or the new information (because not every chapter will have a cliffhanger), read on. It will, at least in my opinion, sink in better that way. Please, please, rate and review, and let me know how it is thus far.**


	2. An Uneasy Feeling

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything affiliated with said franchise.**

**Author Announcement(s): I am sorry for any delay in the update process, during my ongoing attempt at writing a superb story. This being said, I would like to sorrowfully say, that my updates may be coming a little slower than I had intended, and for that, I _AM TERRIBLY SORRY!_ I will _NOT_, however, be cancelling this story, so there is hope at least, for that. I will continue it, and I _WILL FINISH_ it; however, it may take a while for me to do so. So, anyway, enough complaining and droning on, here is Chap. 2! Enjoy!**

**II. An Uneasy Feeling**

"…And just what _exactly_ is the derivative of the previously discussed function, hmmm…let's see…" Mr. Stockly said, pretending to ponder his thoughts, so as to give the appearance of indecision; however, he already knew exactly who he would choose to answer his question.

He would choose the sleeping boy in the back of the class, the boy who was _always _sleeping in his class, the boy with emerald eyes. "…How about _you_, Mr. Neutron?" Mr. Stockly finished, eagerly addressing the sleeping boy. The middle-aged man—although he had a surprisingly attractive face—was overweight and worn-down.

He had, once again, called on the sleeping boy in order to embarrass him, even though, somewhere deep down, he knew he was in for a disappointment. He always tried to embarrass Jake when he fell asleep in his class, so as to make an example out of him, but Jake _always_ saw it coming, got the question right, and went back to sleep, without a second thought. Mr. Stockly, however, had found no reason to tell him to stop dozing off because this class was just _too_ easy for him. He could sleep all year long and _still_ get a five on the end-of-year "_AP Exam_."

Jake was still sleeping strong, even after being directly called out by the teacher in the front of the entire class.

"_AHEM!_" Mr. Stockly cleared his throat loudly. Lucy, who was currently taking notes and sitting right beside Jake, nudged him gently, which woke him up.

He was still a little dazed and confused as he slowly came-to, but his confusion was quickly passing as his thoughts cleared. He looked Mr. Stockly straight in the eye.

"Yes, Mr. Stockly?" Jake addressed his angered and annoyed teacher warily, his comical tone lightly ringing in his voice.

"Well, I'm glad you could _finally_ join us, Mr. Neutron." Mr. Stockly responded, his irritation incredibly higher than before.

"Well, I _was_ having a pretty nice dream…" Jake trailed off, getting his usual response of laughter from the class. Lucy giggled softly—in the same attractive way as before—and he smiled at her. Ever since Jake was seven years old, he loved longed for that attractive giggle that Lucy was well-known for emitting.

"Mr. NEUTRON! I will _NOT_ tolerate such insolence in my class; this is Honors AP Calculus BC. This is _NOT_ free-time, and your form entertainment does _NOT_ amuse me!" Mr. Stockly finished his rant, now completely and furiously _fuming_

"I am terribly _sorry_, Mr. Stockly; I meant no disrespect." Jake responded to his adamantly angry teacher, a tone of slight sarcasm in his voice; however, it was covered up by such a strikingly sincere tone that Mr. Stockly could not tell that he was being sarcastic. He could _never_ tell. Jake was good at that; he was good at smooth-talking.

"_Well_…Very well then." Mr. Stockly responded, completely oblivious to Jake's class-clown routine. Lucy giggled again at his ignorance, and Jake winked at her.

"Why is it that you are always _so_ tired, Mr. Neutron? What, were you up all night making _another_ one of those inventions that would inevitably endanger the entire town again?" Mr. Stockly asked, raising an eyebrow. This elicited some laughter some from the class, but Jake would not stand for this; he would not let his apparently tenacious teacher beat him at his own game. He _was_ the class-clown, after all.

"Well, you're _half_-right, sir." Jake started.

"You see, I spent the _first_ half of the night making an invention to endanger the town; however, I then stayed up the _other_ half of the night, making the invention that would _save_ the town _after_ I endanger everyone." Jake responded, smiling. To his teacher's dismay, he was _embracing_ his former faults and screw-ups, rather than being insulted by them. He let-loose more laughs from the class than his teacher's previous attempt at an insult could muster.

"…Right… …Well, anyway, would do us the pleasure of solving the problem in question?" Mr. Stockly responded, wanting to change the subject after being outsmarted and bested by his student.

"…And… …Um… …Just what problem would that be, _exactly_?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow, trying very hard to be serious and solemn, but apparently, he was failing miserably in Lucy's eyes as she started to giggle again.

"Ughh. We are looking at problem 57, in Chapter 11, on page 579." Mr. Stockly answered, a hint of his former annoyance returning.

"…Oh, right." Jake said coolly as he took the book on his desk—which was currently closed—and turned to the page in question. Jake took one _very_ _quick_ look at the problem and responded to his teacher's query with a ready response.

"The derivative of the function in question is: f(x) = (3X^2 +5X)/(X^1/4)." he responded, his tone now one of intellectualism, intelligence, and importance itself. His comical tone had completely ceased.

"…That's… …That's, um, that's _correct_, Mr. Neutron. Thank you." Mr. Stockly responded, defeat clear in his voice, as he grudgingly and unnervingly uttered the word _correct_.

"No problem." Jake said calmly, as he once again closed his book and rested his head on his desk, ready to return to his peaceful slumber.

Before he closed his eyes, he looked at Lucy, making direct eye contact with her, and smiled. She winked in return. '_She is incredible_,' thought Jake, as his mind started slumber, thoughts of a dark-haired beauty filling his brain.

"…" Mr. Stockly had no response to this action. He _never_ had a response. He continued to teach the class. However, his voice now had a tinge of defeat and anger, as it always did after his daily "confrontation" with Jake.

Jake settled in for his perfect, peaceful slumber. Just as he was about to close his eyes, however, the bell rung, signaling the end of the period, and the start of their lunch period. The sound jarred Jake awake, and he was not so sluggish this time, as he prepared to leave the class.

Jake and Lucy packed up their belongings and got up, pushing in their seats. They headed for the door, only to be called back.

"Mr. Neutron? Ms. Gallagher? Would you two care to stay behind?" Mr. Stockly asked, but it seemed more like a command than a request. The two stopped in their tracks, turned around, and uneasily made their way back to the front of the teacher's desk, avoiding eye contact with the irritated and incredibly irate Mr. Stockly.

"If you don't mind, sir, my name is Neutron-_Vortex_, not Neutron." Jake said proudly.

"Yes, well, '_Neutron-Vortex_,' is quite a lengthy name. You don't have any nicknames or shortened versions of your surname that I could use to address you by, do you?" Mr. Stockly asked.

"Well, let's see, you could try '_Mr. N-V_,' or '_Jake_,' or '_Jacob_,' even." Jake suggested.

"I prefer to use last names. It shows more respect, and I believe it gives my students a certain earned esteem, so as to give the class an air of formality. '_Mr. N-V_' doesn't quite get the '_formality_' I was hoping for." Mr. Stockly continued.

"…Well… …There is something new I heard recently…" Jake trailed off.

"…And _that_ would be…?" Mr. Stockly urged him on.

'_Ohh, he better NOT be going there!_' Lucy thought to herself.

"How about '_Neutrex_?'" Jake asked, surprisingly eager and excited. Lucy turned her head up at this suggestion. She couldn't believe that he was taking one of _her_ ideas.

"Hmmm… …'_Neutrex_'… …That _will_ work, yes, thank you, Mr. Neutrex." Mr. Stockly announced, triumphantly.

"I can't believe you used the name _she_ gave you!" Lucy spat, her tone of viciousness and venom perfectly concealing the pain she felt.

"…Oh, c'mon Lucy! …I _didn't_ _mean_ anything by it. It was just a _suggestion!_" Jake pleaded.

"I don't believe you. I'm just another one of your stupid girls, aren't I? I might as well be just like that stupid airhead!" she stated sternly, her pain now clear.

"_OF COURSE NOT!_" Jake replied readily, trying to comfort her.

"Lucy, you mean more to me than you'll ever know!" Jake stated, trying to get her to see reason. "You're smarter than _all_ of those girls put together!" Jake continued, still sincere and trying to comfort her.

"Yeah _right_. That's why you go completely _brain-dead_ around her isn't it?" Lucy responded, still hurt.

"…The _only_ reason that happens to me is due to a _natural_ _unconscious_ reaction to being around a pretty girl." Jake said, trying to make things better.

"_What_, so _I'm_ not pretty?" she asked, her rage had now clearly subsided, and she wanted a genuine response. The tone of her sad voice made Jake feel as though he had just slaughtered some blind orphans.

Jake didn't take single pause as he responded, and his answer was the best genuine and genius response that the sorry and sincere boy could muster, and Lucy knew this.

"Lucy, you are prettier than _any_ other girl out there. I only act like that around Sarah because I _have _to dumb-it-down when I talk to her, or the conversation won't go smoothly. …But, with _you_… …I don't have to do that because you understand me, even when I don't say a single word. _That_ is what makes you special Lucy. _That_ is why I like you." Jake finished his rant, making direct eye-contact with Lucy the entire time. She was stunned and speechless, and her silence said just that.

All the while Mr. Stockly was watching the bickering couple, drawing his own conclusions.

"You two certainly make a cute couple." Mr. Stockly started, sounding as though he had meant what he said. The two teenagers looked up at him, confounded and confused. Their gaze then shifted from the teacher's face to each other, making eye contact with each other. The moment their eyes met, they looked away quickly, both blushing heavily.

"…We're… …Um… …We're not, um, exactly…" Lucy started, but trailed off, eagerly embarrassed, and still blushing.

"What she means to say is that we're not, um, exactly _official_." Jake stated shyly, sneaking a quick glance at Lucy to see if he could gauge her reaction. He had just revealed his intentions, and he had no idea if she felt the same way; he only _hoped _she did.

She looked at him, stunned and silent, but he couldn't tell if that was good thing—that is until her stunned look faded, and she looked away, blushing heavier than ever. He took that as a good sign, and began to blush himself.

"Well, regardless of how '_cute_' or '_official_' you two are, I would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from your usual antics—at least while in class—or at least tune it down a bit, huh? You two are _far _too smart for that." he finished, his tone a lot more understanding than they had expected, and the two dumbstruck teenagers just stood and nodded stupidly, not quite understanding what was happening right now.

"_Well_… …You are free to go now, if you so please. Your lunch started about five minutes ago." the teacher finished, a little uneasily.

The two teens nodded, turned around, and dumbly exited the room. Once they were outside the classroom and in the hallway, they addressed the issue that plagued both their minds.

"…Did you, um… …You know… …Um, did you—" Lucy started her choppy question, but was cut off by Jake's choppy answer.

"Luce, I… …I, um… …I meant _every_ word…" Jake started tentatively.

"…And, I'm, um… …I'm, um, sorr—" Jake sorrowfully started his apology, but he was cut off by Lucy's lips, which had suddenly and inexplicably made contact with his own.

Her lips were soft and inviting, and she tasted like apples—like the lip gloss that had purchased for her.

'_Hmmm, this is new…_' Jake thought tactfully, quickly and quietly trying to gather his thoughts. His heart was beating faster than it ever had before, and his mind rushed with more information than it could process. He at first was surprised, but after the initial shock wore off he returned the kiss with everything he had.

When they broke apart, they were both blushing heavily. They smiled at each other, making direct eye contact, and there was nothing but silence. However, this silence was not awkward or mournful. It was a silence filled with adoration and affection.

"…_That_… …That was _incredible_…" he trailed off, surprised by how much he had enjoyed the intimate contact he had just shared with Lucy, who blushed at his comment and the tone he used.

"…Um… …Yeah thanks. You weren't bad yourself." Lucy said, her confidence returning, as she winked at him.

"Heh, heh… …Um, thanks." Jake replied, his confidence returning significantly slower than Lucy's seemed to.

"So, um, did you mean what you said earlier, you know, about me being your girlfriend?" she asked tentatively.

"Um, yeah, but only if _you want_ to, of course." Jake stated, his nervousness returning. She found this sweet, and she was flattered by the fact that she was able to make him feel that.

"_Of course_ I _want_ to!" Lucy responded eagerly, once again placing her lips on his. The kiss was a peck; it was quick—_very_ quick—but, somehow, someone managed to see it.

Their lunch period had been going on for over ten minutes now, and the halls _should_ have been clear, or so the two had assumed. However, he two lovebirds quickly found that their assumption was wrong.

"…_WOW!_" a voice said, and after the figure walked into sight, the two then recognized who the voice belonged to: Eric Estevez.

Eric was attractive, very attractive; in fact he and Jake were quite even in that category. Although this was true, Eric did not flirt with anything that walked, unlike Jake, Collin, and even his father had been guilty of in the past (of course, Jake was probably not going to flirt with _anyone_ anymore, and Eric's father had since stopped with his flirtatious and affectionate attitude). His dark-brown hair, slicked back in gelled sleekness, rested on top of a golden and almost flawless face.

"I knew you two would get together in the end." Eric stated, a smug grin on his face. He was obviously proud that his hypothesis had proven to be true. Lucy and Jake just smiled at each other, as their hands found each other and interlocked.

"Yeah, well…" Jake trailed off, slightly embarrassed at being caught red-handed by his best friend. Eric and Jake were, for the most part, inseparable. Unfortunately, due to all of Jake's _advanced_ classes, the time that they spent together in school was limited to lunch and after school activities. Eric was a sophomore, just as Lucy and Jake were, and while his grades weren't terrible, they weren't worthy of an AP class either.

"Well, c'mon, you two! We better hurry before they run out! It's _taco_ day, and I'm _not_ going to miss my chance at meaty goodness!" Eric exclaimed, and as he did so, he seemed a little more excited and eager than usual. Eric _usually_ had a very _calm_ demeanor. He had his father's looks; however, he had nothing of his personality. He had a long attention span; he didn't care for '_Ultra-Lord_,' and he absolutely detested candy—most of it, anyways.

"Alright, alright!" Jake started, snapping back to reality. "Calm down, we still have plenty of time before lunch is over." Jake responded to his friend's dilemma.

Jake smiled at Lucy, took her and in his own and led her down the hall, towards the commons. The lunchroom was packed and filled with loud banter and chatter, as usual.

There was, however, a quite _unusual_ sound that acquired the three friends' attention rather quickly—the sound of a screaming girl. Just as they were about to enter the lunchroom, a dark-haired boy approached, frantically trying to wave-down Eric.

"_ERIC! ERIC! ERIC!_" his shouts could be heard from down the hall. The boy was very frantic and fast, as his dark hair waved back-and-forth as he ran toward the three friends. His face came into view, as did his well-toned lower body. Being a runner, and a track-star, the boy reached the three friends in record time.

"Woah!" Eric exclaimed, grabbing his acquaintance by the arms as he came into range. "Neil! Calm down man! What's wrong?" Eric asked, eying his friend carefully.

Neil composed himself, and he began to speak, still a little dazed. "Dude, your sister is about to get her ass _beat_!" Neil finished, his reason for being so frantic was now finally clear.

"WHAT?" the three friends responded simultaneously, all showing the full extent of the shock on their faces.

Eric ran into the lunchroom, not bothering to ask Neil any more questions, or address his friends. **_No one_** messed with _his_ sister!

* * *

><p>"Seriously though, what's so bad about <em>Neutrex<em>?" Ryan asked, seeking a genuine answer for a change.

"Ughh. It is a cliché and clumsy combination of my names. It is an idiotic and imbecilic butchering of my name, and as I said before, I will _not_ have you butcher my name!" Jenny shot back, her annoyance turning to anger, and her temper and tenacity rising.

"I'm _not_ butchering it! I'm just _asking_ your _permission_ to use a _witty_ and catchy combination of your surnames! I mean honestly Jenny, can you just, for _once_, be a little reasonable!" Ryan retorted, his usual calm demeanor disappearing quickly.

The argument had been raging between the two for some time, and the three of their friends looked on in awe and amusement as they watched them bicker, like they always did. Lacey constantly rolled her eyes, hoping they would just drop this and admit their feelings.

Sean looked on, in fascination, hoping the fight would escalate to a physical one; he really wanted to see some action. Collin heard everything that was going on, but was too busy making eyes at a pretty girl across the room to be interested in their bickering.

"It is **_NOT_** witty; it is the stupidest thing I have ever heard!" Jenny spat in response.

"Oh _really_, because then you must not be listening to yourself, as you spew your stupid statements, _right now_!" Ryan shouted his comeback.

She had to admit, that was pretty clever, but she would never let him know that. "_Why_ are you _so_ interested in this anyway…?" Jenny asked, her tone of anger receding, and her voice lowering. She raised an eyebrow as she inquired about his intentions; she was genuinely curious.

"…Well, if you _must_ know, I just wanted a catchy name—a cute one—to call you by, because I'm tired of being defeated in debates, simply because you have a lengthy name. And, also, it would be nice to associate something nice with you rather than just your appearance, and well…" Ryan started, then trailed off, his voice level dropping in accordance with his self-confidence. This was his form of an apology, and Jenny knew that.

The table went silent. Ryan had just called Jenny's appearance attractive. She had noticed—nonchalantly—but, now she was contemplating comebacks and retorts, and she settled on something no one would ever expect.

"You think my appearance is '_nice_?'" she inquired intricately.

"Yes. It is one of the few reasons that I don't look away when I see Satan in your eyes." he chuckled comically in response, and she scowled at him.

"That scowl only makes it better. It's like you want to be aggressive and angry, but you can't help but be attractive." he stated sincerely. Jenny donned a shocked and surprised expression, and she went wide-eyed, as did the rest of the table—even Collin.

"I simply wanted a cute name that matched and sounded like it fit you." he finished. Jenny responded quickly this time.

"…Aw, well isn't that sweet?" Jenny stated, her anger now completely gone, as her "sweet" side started to show itself. She had accepted his "apology." "Why didn't you just say that, then?" she finished, not giving him a second to think of his response.

Ryan did not need a moment to think though, as he was quick on his feet as well. "Well, to be blunt, Jen, you aren't the most affectionate person. Anger and aggressiveness seem to be your forte, and thus, presenting a proposal to you should best be done in such a manner." Ryan said smugly, smiling cynically as he did so.

Jenny scowled at him again, and he smiled sincerely at her. She then proceeded to clear the clouds in her mind and evoke every emotional barrier she had, in order to prevent the bold blush from creeping into her cheeks.

"I wouldn't call Neutrex _cute_ exactly. _But_ I suppose I'll _consider_ it…" Jenny trailed off, putting her finger on her lips and looking up, trying to appear deep in thought, although she already had her answer.

"I _suppose_ it wouldn't be _so_ bad if you were to call me _Neutrex_. Just don't overuse it, got it?" Jenny finished, giving into Ryan's request.

"You got it, Neutrex!" he responded enthusiastically. Rather than shooting him a death-glare, she chuckled in a clearly comical manner.

This astonishing action had and held Ryan and everyone else's surprise. He had complimented her, and she had chastised him—only to let him have his way. They both lost, and they both won; that was their form of "agreement." Their relationship was chalk-full of compromises.

Lacey sighed, exhausted and relieved, as she knew that the argument was coming to an end.

Sean groaned, and said in a rather annoyed voice, "Oh man, C'MON! What, no fight?" Lacey proceeded to smack him hard in the head for this comment. Collin then turned around from the girl he was flirting with to address his friends, who were _finally_ done arguing. Collin was the first to speak up.

"Hey, where's the little man at?" Collin asked Jenny, his eyebrows raised.

"I honestly have no idea. I don't keep tabs on _everything_ Jake does. Besides, he's probably using the flirting methods that _you_ taught him. He always runs late when he's talking to a girl." Jenny responded, clearly annoyed with the tactics that Collin was teaching and training into her little brother.

"Ha, yeah. Well, what can I say? He is a pretty quick learner, and besides, I _need_ a wingman." Collin responded, defending his actions.

"HEY!" Sean interjected, obviously insulted.

"Oh, c'mon man. I know you're good with the girls, but you have Lacey and all, and she'd kill me if I ever… …'Ya know…" Collin replied, easing his friend's concerns.

"'Ya damn right I would!" Lacey interrupted, eying Collin seriously, before turning to face her boyfriend. "But you'd never do _anything_ like _that_, right?" Lacey asked, in a tone that doubled as a hopeful one, and a one of warning.

"Um, of course not. C'mon babe, you know me better than _that_." Sean responded to his girlfriend's heavy-handed question with fear and hesitation.

"Good, that's what I thought." Lacey concluded, satisfied with his response.

Collin and Sean shared a discreet look, that only Ryan got wind of.

"_AHEM!_" Ryan cleared his throat loudly, addressing the topic at hand.

"You know what my reason is for not making _you_ my wingman." Collin stated in a bold and blatant fashion, quickly shifting his gaze to Jenny and then back to his friend. Thankfully, she had not seen, or so he had thought. She turned away and blushed slightly. Ryan then had red creep into his own cheeks.

"…" Ryan couldn't respond, and Collin knew that. Thus, the conversation had ended.

Then, something _unexpected_ happened. Usually, Jenny and Ryan were the two loudest people in the lunchroom, but an even louder noise had just pierced through the usual sounds of the lunchroom—one louder than Jenny and Ryan combined. It was the sound of a screaming girl.

"Ultra-Lord _is too real_!" A small, but stern female voice rang.

"I don't give a damn! Now _move_, or _be moved_!" A mannish, low, heavy voice boomed in response.

The five friends turned around to see what all the commotion was about. They all got up and approached the large group in the center of the lunchroom. The group of teenagers in the center of the room were gathered around two girls having a "_heated_ discussion."

One girls was a burly, tall, butch. Her hair was dark; however, whether that was its natural color, or whether it was that color form lack of hygiene was unclear, although the Jenny would have bet good money it was the latter.

The second girl in the center, however, was more familiar. The five friends recognized her immediately. She was Samantha Estevez, the youngest child of Sheen Estevez and Liberty "Libby" Folfax. She was beautiful, with her dark raven hair and light-hazel eyes.

She had her mother's beauty; however, she also, unfortunately, had her father's personality. In fact, from what the five friends could hear, her love of the superhero, '_Ultra-Lord_,' seemed to have caused the dispute between the two girls.

By the look of things, and the way Sam sized up against her opponent, it appeared that physical confrontation was unavoidable. Sam was noticeably shorter than her she-hulk-sized opponent, and she seemed clearly outmatched, but she displayed no sign of fear as the argument continued.

Samantha was a freshman at the school and it appeared that her opponent was _at least_ one grade ahead of her. While Jenny and her friends were juniors and were substantially older than two girls having the dispute, she couldn't just stand there and do nothing. Jenny really liked Sam, and she didn't want to see her get hurt. Plus, Jenny was already formulated for a fight; she was always ready for a fight.

Just as Jenny was about to walk into the crowd, and into the mix, Sam's older brother burst into lunchroom, drawing attention to himself and way from the ongoing confrontation. Jenny was thankful, because the fact that Eric was a sophomore made it more socially acceptable for him to intervene instead of her.

"Hey, Barbara!" Eric shouted, addressing the she-hulk as he moved towards her.

"Ughh, not _another _one of you weirdos!" Barbara sighed in response.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, but you better step the hell _away_ from my sister!" Eric boomed boldly.

"You know what?" Barbara asked, annoyed, angered, tired of the situation. "I _really_ don't even care anymore! Just make sure to keep your stupid sister on leash, 'kay?" Barbara spat in response, storming away from the two siblings.

"Are you okay?" Eric asked, addressing his little sister.

"Yeah, phew, thanks a lot, bro! You _really_ saved my ass back there. She would have _eaten_ me!" Sam said, in a more comical manner than a serious one.

"Ha, yeah, and that would have just been the _appetizer_!" Eric joked, lightening the mood, as his sister loosened-up and laughed.

"Haha, yeah." Sam responded between small burst of laughter.

"But Sam, seriously. You've _got_ to be more careful. _Please_. I don't want to see you get hurt." Eric responded, and his genuine affection for his sister was clear.

"I know, I know. I will, I promise. Thanks, again." Sam replied, more softly than before.

"No problem, what are big brothers for?" Eric said, smiling. "C'mon, let's go see Jen and Collin." Eric said more happily as he led his sister way from the site of her recent altercation

Just at this moment, the two love struck sophomores entered the lunchroom, having missed all the action. They walked up to the group of seven at the far end of the cafeteria, holding hands all the way.

As they approached the table, where all of their friends were seated, the seven teenagers continued their chatter and seemed to be completely oblivious to the new couple standing there. The first two to notice the new couple and their obvious display of affection were their older siblings. Jenny and Collin raised an eyebrow and looked at each other, then back at their younger siblings.

"Hey guys." Jake said as he approached the group. Now everyone's attention was on the new couple, and slowly but surely, their eyes shifted down, and they saw the detail that Jenny and Collin had previously caught. Their hands were still interlocked.

"Hey, what's, ah… …What's, 'ya know, going on?" Collin asked, his voice almost a whisper, as his index finger moved between the two.

"Well, we're kind of—" Jake started, but was cut off by Lucy.

"We're a couple." Lucy stated matter-of-factly, but her tone of pride could not be concealed. She addressed her brother confidently, trying to guide, what she thought was his anger, away from Jake.

Jake waited and braced for the beating he was sure he would receive. Collin _knew_ what went through Jake's mind concerning girls; he had taught him most of it. He knew dating a friend's sister was "taboo," but he wasn't just trying to get into Lucy's pants; he had _actual affection_ her, and he wanted to make her as happy as possible. He only hoped that Collin would realize this before he used his fairly large muscles to beat him to a pulp.

However, Collin's reaction was _not _what he expected.

"Well, welcome to the family then man!" Collin stated, authentic excitement and happiness filling up his voice.

"…Umm, you mean you're _not_ mad?" Jake asked, testing the temper of Collin Gallagher.

"No! Why would I be mad?" Collin asked, surprised.

"Well, because, you basically turned _me_ into a mini _you_." Jake explained, bracing himself, once again for a beating.

"Yeah, I know, but Lucy can handle herself. Why do you think I don't worry about her? She's smarter and faster than me. Besides, I _know_ how much you like her. I saw the two of you the first time you met, and I've kept my eye on it for a while. I _know_ you won't hurt her." Collin said, sure of himself

"Wow well, um , thanks man." Jake said, loosening his tense form, and holding out his hand, expecting a hand-shake.

Instead, Collin used the boy's hand to pull him into a full-on embrace. The hug was strangling Jake, and he tenderly tapped-out, only to have Collin release him and apologize.

The group then entered the line, wherein students waited to pay for their food. Jake was a perfect gentleman as he carried Lucy's tray of food from the exit of the line, to their table. He had even offered to pay for it, but Lucy's pride had prevented her from accepting his offer. As he handed her the tray of food, he waggled his eyebrows at her, as they sat down at the table, and she giggled, again in an attractive way.

"I love that giggle." Jake commented, smiling.

"I know. Why do you think I do it?" Lucy responded smugly.

The couple shared a quick kiss, and they entire table of friends erupted with, "_AWWWW!_"

"That was _cute_." Jenny commented, smiling, and seeming surprisingly happy.

Jake and Lucy just smiled at each other, their slight blush noticed only by themselves.

"Jake...?" Jenny addressed her brother.

"Yeah...?" he answered, uneasily, as his sister's tone made him wary.

"You _better_ treat her right, or you won't have to worry about Collin. _Understand?" _Jenny asked him, her tone one of warning.

However, before Jake could respond, Lucy intervened. "You don't have to worry about _that_." Lucy said, addressing Jenny, shifting her gaze to Jake as she finished, smiling as her gaze rested on Jake.

"I know that's right!" Collin commented, eagerly excited. "Give her another smooch!" he finished, his excitement coming to a climax.

Jake and Lucy blushed slightly more heavily than before. "Collin!" Jenny addressed his pig-headed remark.

"..._Sorry_..." Collin responded, and the sophomores' red faces returned to their normal color.

The rest of the group soon erupted with the usual dialogue and discussion of gossip, chatter, and joking that made-up their usual lunchtime banter.

* * *

><p>The group of nine friends gathered in the hallway near their lockers, as they conversed about the day that had just passed. They all had their after-school actives, and the <em>all<em> made their contributions to the school.

Jenny was putting her books away and getting her soccer gear out of her locker. The start of the soccer season was far away, but today was the first day of open fields, and she needed some practice.

Ryan and Lucy retrieved their running shoes and their shorts, as they were going to run in order to prepare for their track meet on the coming Saturday.

Eric and Jake got out their tennis shoes and clothes, and they prepared to go practice their serve on the courts, as the season was quickly approaching. Sam followed in her older brother's footsteps, and she got out her tennis stuff. She would try-out for the first time this year, but Eric was positive that she would make the team; her reflexes were amazing—the product of a short attention-span.

Sean and Collin got out their athletic "support"—their "cups"—as they prepared for football practice. The rest of their equipment was already in the locker room, and they would get dressed there. They were anxiously anticipating the football game that was coming this Friday.

Lacey removed her pom-poms from her locker and inspected them. The cheer-captain was notorious for having sudden inspections of equipment.

Ryan chuckled as he watched Jenny inspect her shin-guards.

"What's _so_ funny?" Jenny asked, annoyed once again.

"It's just that, well, we _all_ know that _you_ won't need those. The people you play against will." Ryan explained.

"Right you are." Jenny responded with a smile. Teenage female soccer players were vicious and violent enough, but Jenny was, by far, the _most _viciously violent. Jenny was _very_ violent when she played soccer. She loved performing slide-tackles, and she was very aggressive.

_All_ of the other high school teams feared her—literally. She was smart, swift, strong, and agile—a force to be reckoned with.

"Ha, man Jen, if only coach let you play for _us_, then we'd be undefeated." Collin commented.

Jenny just rolled her eyes, but Collin knew she appreciated his remark—_somewhat_.

"We pretty much _are_ undefeated." Sean responded, as arrogant as ever.

"Yeah, well you guys better crush 'em on Friday!" Lacey interjected.

"You know we will!" Collin and Sean responded in unison.

As the teens were getting ready for their various after-school activities, Jenny's phone rang. There were only two people that would call at this time.

She grabbed her phone out of her pocket. It was a "special" phone. She had invented it herself, and it had quite a number of useful features. She answered it, and immediately, she recognized the voice on the other side.

"Jenny?" The voice asked, in a tone that was unusual for her.

"Mom? What's wrong?" Jenny responded, and her look and tone of worry attracted the attention of her eight friends, as they all stopped what they were doing to look at her and listen in.

"Listen honey, I need you and your brother to come home, _right now_." Cindy finished, her unusual tone of worry now obviously present.

"But mom, we hav—" Jenny started but was cut-off by her mother. What surprised her most was that the tone in her mother's voice was not angry or agitated, as she had expected it to be, but instead, it was rather _understanding_.

"Listen, I know you have open fields and Jake has open courts, but _please, please_ just come home." her mother responded, now pleading.

Jenny could no longer deny her mother; she knew something was wrong, but she also knew she shouldn't discuss it here, whatever _it_ was. "Alright mom, we're on our way." Jenny responded, obeying her mother.

"Okay good, thank you honey." Cindy responded, relief flooding through her voice and her body.

"No problem mom." Jenny replied, now uneasy.

"Oh, and honey?"

"Yeah…?"

"I love you, _both_ of you; make sure you tell your brother." Cindy replied, and her voice was back to pleading again.

'_What is with her?_' Jenny thought to herself. This was not like her hard, headstrong, determined mother at all.

"I love you too, mom. And, yeah, I'll tell Jake." Jenny responded, and with that, she hung up.

She looked at the group that was watching her, wide-eyed.

"We have to go." she said, motioning to Jake.

"But—"

"**_NO BUTS! NOW!_**" Jenny responded, as urgency filled her voice.

Jake simply nodded in response. He didn't question when his sister took charge like this; she was better at leading the teens, than he was, anyways.

'_This isn't good; this is not good. What the hell is going on?_' Jenny thought, as she racked her baffled brain for thoughts of what might be wrong. But she thought of nothing. Whatever it was, it would come as a surprise to her, and she _hated_ surprises.

She had an uneasy feeling about this whole thing.

**A/N: What is going on? I wonder, though, what has the "Rough-And-Tough" Cindy all "shakin' up?" …And just where, might I ask, is Jimmy? Oh, and what the hell happened to Carl? What, he didn't have kids? I SWEAR TO GOD, the author of this god-forsaken story better not have killed him off. Well, I don't think he did, but then again, what do I know? ;) There is only one way to answer all these questions: stay tuned for the next update. R&R!**


	3. Danger Close

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything affiliated with said franchise. I also do not own Tomb Raider, or badass females, in general (as a number of them appear in this chapter). However, I do enjoy the company of badass females...**

**Accolades/Appreciation: I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and THANK you ALL for the reviews. I take _every_ comment into account in relating, revising, and rewriting for my readers, and I'm glad that people are enjoying this story, because I'm enjoying writing it and developing my AWESOME characters. **

**Author Announcement(s): The Plot is JUST BEGINNING, but there is at least SOME action here. The length of this chapter is not unusual, so don't fret, because you may see more like it in the future. For future reference, my chapters will be varying in length; however, the MINIMUM length for any single chapter is and always will be 3,500 words. Anyways, enough of the semantics, syntax, and expectations, here is Chap. 3; Enjoy!**

**III. Danger Close**

Jenny looked shocked, and Jake was not used to seeing her like this. '_What's with her?_' he thought, slightly shocked at his sister's tone and volume.

Jenny's mind raced and reeled with all of the possibilities of what could have gone wrong.

'_Did something happen to dad?_' she thought, stunned at her own conclusion.

'_Stop that! Don't even begin to think like that! Dad is fine; he can take care of himself. I've got to worry about the others and myself. I need to get answers._' she refuted her previous concerns.

"Is everything alright?" Ryan asked, as genuine caring and concern filled his voice.

"...I-I don't _know_." Jenny responded, disturbed and disgusted by her own lack of information. She then began to quickly change out of her soccer gear and back into her regular closes. She motioned for Jake to do the same. He did.

"What did your mom say?" Ryan asked, trying to get some information.

"She said she wanted us home—_now_."" she replied, still slightly confounded and confused. She grabbed her book bag and tossed her brother's bag to him. Even though, he was still puzzled, he caught it with ready reflexes.

"Should I come wit—" Ryan started to ask, but was cut off by Jenny's somber response.

"No. We are going to go home and see what's going on. You all should get to your _own_ respective houses. Regardless of whatever _is_ going on, I do not believe that it would be beneficial for you all to stay here." she stated, her serious and solemn tone telling them these were not suggestions; they were orders.

Her voice was devoid of emotion. Her friends knew what that meant. She only used her serious, stringent, tone in times of emergency or _extreme_ distress.

"…O-_Okay_. …Well, let us know if you need anything. …_Anything_ at _all_." Ryan responded, now uneasy and on edge, but still wanting to help.

"Will do." Jenny said. "Be safe." she addressed the entire group.

"_All_ of you, be safe." she repeated her request, but this time she made direct eye contact with only Ryan, and he understood the implication, as he nodded in response.

"I'll see you in little bit, okay?" Jake said, uneasily addressing his girlfriend.

"Okay." Lucy responded, a little more than slightly shocked, and her worried expression did nothing to hide that.

"I'll call you when I get home, and I'll let you know what's going on." he replied, smiling half-heartedly.

She responded by silently nodding and quickly kissing him goodbye, but worry was clearly painted on her face.

"Let's go." the genius addressed her brother, who nodded in response and followed her down the hall and way from their seven friends, who still wore their emotionless expressions of shock, surprise, and anxiety clearly.

Jenny _always_ took charge in times like this, but _this_ time was different. They had _all_ been in mortal danger before, and they always had leader who was confident and in-control, but this was not _their_ Jenny; _this_ Jenny was _neither_ confident _nor_ in-control.

The countless adventures she had taken them on had brought them all closer together, so they knew her general dialect and demeanor enough to know when she wasn't "in the know," or was not informed on important or integral information, which _rarely_ happened, because she knew everything—or _almost_ everything.

Her demeanor had shocked her friends, but they soon regained their focus, and they composed themselves. They all began packing away their equipment for their various after-school activities, in order to leave school and vacate the premises.

They didn't doubt Jenny's judgment, no matter how distraught she was, and they trusted her word. They all prepared to leave school grounds, forgetting any appointments or practices they had to attend; her advice was more important.

Jenny led Jake through the corridors of the school, until she finally reached the large front doors to school—the exit. Jenny was walking; however, maneuvering masterfully through the hallways, and her speed was equivalent to an average person's _sprinting_ speed, and her quick pace caused her brother further alarm.

"…Hey… …Jen… …Wait up!" Jake got out between bursts of breath. He still had quite a bit of stamina remaining, but he could tell that he would fall behind her at this pace. He was quite physically fit; his sister's physical prowess was simply better.

"No time, Jake! Keep up!' his sister responded, bolting through the double-doors of the school, and entering the school's student parking lot. Jake followed closely behind her.

As she entered the parking lot, her pace slowed significantly, until she finally came to a stop. This, in turn, caused her brother to almost run into her.

She pulled a small, half-metallic, half-plastic device from her pocket. The device had buttons on it; it was clearly another one of her inventions. She pressed a series of button combinations, and a sound was heard from the far end of the parking lot.

Jake knew exactly what she was doing, and he began to take his own device out his pocket, only to be stopped by his sister.

"No need." she said, grabbing his wrist and preventing his hand—which was already wrapped around the device—from exiting his pocket.

"We'll take mine; it'll be faster if we go on _one_." she finished her explanation, releasing her stern grip on her brother's arm.

"Well, why can't we take _mine_?" Jake asked, a little shaken up by his sister's attitude and actions.

"Because mine has a few _extra_ features, and plus, I have no restrictions on my license." she responded, answering Jake's query with pure logic.

Just as she finished, her hover-bike—which she had summoned earlier—appeared before them, already airborne and ready to go.

Her bike was painted jet-black, with dark purple racing stripes. It had the blue-green symbol of an atom surrounded by a swirling vortex etched on its side.

"Hop on." she said, mounting the vehicle and straddling the seat, as she adjusted her settings and grabbed the handlebars.

Jake did as he was told, getting on the bike behind his sister, but not without a few complaints.

"The _only_ reason that I have those so-called '_restrictions_,' is because that I'm not technically old enough to have a _real_ license." Jake responded to her earlier quip about his license.

"Oh, _sure_." Jenny started, rolling her eyes. "It probably had _nothing_ to do with that nuclear reactor you ran into, or that old lady you almost splattered on the street." Jenny finished her sarcastic and snide statement, giving Jake good reason to remain silent.

The bike lifted higher into the air, and as it gained altitude it began to ease forward, constantly gaining speed. Their altitude stopped increasing, and they took off, speeding down the road faster than Jake could have imagined. In fact, they went so fast, that Jake was forced to hold on to his sister's waist, to keep him from falling off.

"What the—" Jake started, worry and concern clear in his tone, before being cut off by his sister.

"Graviton boosters." she responded, answering his unspoken question regarding the unexpected speed boost of the vehicle.

"_What_? You put _GRAVITON BOOSTERS _in your hover bike?" Jake responded, now obviously more worried at his sister's reckless actions.

"Sure did." she responded nonchalantly, as they flew by the citizens of Retroville—who were, by now, used to their antics. "Like I said, I have a few more features on mine, than your own bike does." Jenny stated blatantly.

"_Features_?" Jake responded restlessly, fearing what his sister might have done to _further_ endanger their lives. "Like _what_?" Jake asked cautiously, afraid of the answer.

"Like _this_!" Jenny said, flipping open a hidden panel on her bike's dashboard, revealing a switch for a sixth gear.

"_Sixth _gear?" Jake responded, now slightly intrigued. "Mine only has—" he was, once again, cut off by his sister.

"I know; it only has _five_." she interrupted her brother.

"What, _exactly_, is the max speed on this thing, then?" Jake asked, his intrigue and interest now fading back to worry wariness.

"Watch and see." Jenny responded, hitting the switch, as the bike sped forward, at mind-shattering speeds.

The two geniuses sped towards their house, hoping that all was well in their home.

* * *

><p>Cindy paced frantically up and down her living room floor. She was worried. Both her children were not here, and with the news Jimmy had relayed to her just moments ago, she couldn't help but fret. Cindy stopped for a moment after she had realized something.<p>

'_And just where the hell is Jimmy?_' Cindy thought to herself, now starting to worry about her husband as well.

'_Calm down. He is coming all the way from D.C. after all!_' she adamantly argued with herself. This was true. Jimmy _was _on his way from Washington, D_.C., _but with all the modifications he had made to the hover car, he _should_ have been here already.

Her fierce green eyes pierced the air around her as she paced. Her blonde bangs flowed over her forehead. Her bold blonde hair was up in its classic ponytail, a style her daughter had adopted as well. Although she wasn't as young as she once was, neither her attractiveness, agitation, apparent aggressiveness, nor her physically fit form showed it.

She was smart, swift and strong, and she had not lost a single ounce of her attractiveness. Her fierce face wore the expression of anxiety and anticipation.

'_Stop!_' she urged herself. '_Stop worrying. Worrying never helped anybody. Besides, Cindy Vortex does not worry, so why start now?_' Cindy's mind reasoned.

'_Jimmy can handle himself, and the kids are on their way._' she once again calmed herself down. '_There is no use worrying. If I want to do something productive, then I should take action._' she decided.

"Aria!" Cindy called.

The holographic face of their house's built-in computer intelligence appeared on the wall panel behind Cindy, and it answered her call.

"Yes, ma'am." the computer responded, awaiting further orders. Aria was an Artificial Intelligence program that Jimmy had designed himself. She was integrated and implemented into every system in the house, and she was equipped with best technology possible. She lived up to her acronym, "_A.R.I.A._" (Automated Response Intelligence and Awareness).

Cindy had her arms crossed over her chest as she addressed the computer, her back turned to the wall panel. "Open lab access entrance 21-Z." Cindy commanded.

"Of course, Ma'am." Aria responded, retracting an opening in a section of well-camouflaged wall that hid a staircase down to their lab.

Cindy turned around to face Aria as she spoke her next words. "And run a diagnostic on all weapons systems, Alpha through Zulu. Make sure they are _combat-ready_ by the time the children arrive." Cindy ordered.

"Should I prepare Protocol: '_Danger Close_' for initiation, as well ma'am?" Aria responded, already fast at work completing Cindy's last request.

Cindy froze in her tracks, and her body tensed up at hearing those words. Cindy's eyes widened, as she silently ran the words through her mind.

'_Protocol: Danger Close?_' she silently thought, shocked. The protocol was their last line of defense. It was their last resort, their _very _last resort. Would they actually need to use it? Would it come to that? She hoped not.

"Yes. However, do _not_ initiate the protocol without the proper command." Cindy barked, a little on edge.

"Yes, ma'am." Aria responded, following her orders without question.

All the while that Cindy was having her conversation with Aria, she was being watched, unbeknownst to her. The silent shadowy figure crept in the darkness of the far corner of the room. It was ready to pounce. Just at the right moment, as if timing it perfectly, the creature lunged at Cindy.

Goddard never made contact, however, because Cindy saw it coming. She had mistaken his sign of affection for a threat, as she then leapt backward, out of his reach, and assumed a fighting stance. Goddard then proceeded to whimper.

"Ererr." The canine responded to action. He seemed to be afraid.

"Oh, Goddard, it's just you." Cindy replied, relieved. "Don't scare me like that!" she chastised the dog. He whimpered once again. Cindy approached him, bent down and petted the smooth metal head of the mechanical canine. "Oh, it's _alright_; I'm just a little on edge, is all." Cindy responded, reassuring the dog.

"Err, _BARK BARK_!" Goddard responded eagerly.

"Will that be all, ma'am?" Aria asked, ready to faithfully fulfill Cindy's requests.

"Yes. …For the time being. Thank you, Aria." Cindy responded, somewhat grateful.

"Very well, ma'am." Aria responded. A moment later the face on the wall-panel disappeared. Cindy sighed heavily. She then turned and made her way to the entrance of the lab. She motioned for her loyal companion to follow her, and he eagerly accepted her offer.

"C'mon boy." Cindy said, as she addressed Goddard, who was now happily following behind his female friend.

The two then proceeded to make their way down to the lab.

* * *

><p>The blued-eyed genius was filled with angst and anxiety as he sped forward in his newly-upgraded hover car. His facial features betrayed no sign of feeling this way, however, as he showed the emotions of determination and intent on his face.<p>

'_This is bad!_' Jimmy thought to himself. His sapphire eyes scanned ahead as he made his way over the streets below him. His head, which had become practical proportional to his body, during his trying teenage years, bore an attractive face, although his features were bold, burned-in and stern.

His light auburn hair was arranged in a fashion of organized chaos, and his body was surprisingly fit, considering he was someone who exercised his _mind_ more than his _body_.

'_I hope the kids are alright._' Jimmy thought quietly. '_Stop that!_' he warned himself.

'_Of course they're alright; they are your kids after all._' Jimmy reasoned with himself. '_They'll be fine, besides worrying isn't productive; taking action is productive._' Jimmy concluded, finishing the same mental debate his wife had just had minutes ago.

"Aria!" Jimmy beckoned his program.

A familiar holographic face appeared on a panel that was built-in to the dashboard in his car. "Yes, sir." Aria answered, awaiting orders.

"Calculate current path of travel for package, '_Codename: Precious Cargo_.'" Jimmy ordered. "Determine the current location of Jacob and Jennifer." Jimmy clarified his previous order, as if to put it in laymen's terms.

Using Aria's wireless uplink, she easily completed the task and responded to her creator. "The two appear to be on a direct course for home. The current topographical and satellite data suggest that at their current speed and heading, they will arrive at their destination in under a minute." Aria responded logically.

"Very well. …_Wait_ did you say _under_ a minute?" Jimmy asked skeptically.

"Yes sir. That is correct." Aria responded.

"Aria, just how fast are they traveling?" Jimmy asked, his concern for his children clear in his voice.

"The current data suggest that they are traveling at speeds surpassing 1000 miles per hour." Aria responded to his query.

"_1000 miles an hour_!" Jimmy responded, shocked and surprised.

"Yes, sir." Aria replied.

"How is that possible?" he asked.

"It appears that your daughter has outfitted her hover-bike with a special set of graviton boosters." Aria stated.

"She did _what_?" Jimmy responded, his emotions a clear mix between worry and rage.

"She has apparently equipped her bike with a set of graviton boosters." Aria responded, repeating herself.

"Doesn't she _realize_ just how reckless that is?" Jimmy asked, rhetorically. However his rhetorical question sounded as though he wanted a real response, and thus Aria gave him one.

"Well sir, according to my resources, her substantial brain power and I.Q. should have alerted her to the recklessness of her behavior, so _yes_, I believe that she does realize the recklessness of her actions are substantial." Aria responded.

"What would possess her do something so… …So _insane_?" Jimmy questioned.

"Well sir, my gene and DNA analysis scans indicates that she does in fact get her '_reckless_' side from _you_, sir." Aria reasoned.

Jimmy's rage subsided, and his worry for his daughter's safety turned into admiration of her actions. He remembered just how reckless _he_ was as a child. "I suppose you are right, Aria." Jimmy responded, chuckling to himself.

"Thank you, sir." Aria responded, pleased with herself.

His mind began to run wild with earlier memories—_happy_ memories. His daughter had a perfect blend of both his quintessential qualities, and his wife's personality. She had all of the positives without a single negative—well, maybe a _few_ negatives.

He was happy for this, and he loved when she demonstrated this perfect blend, especially when her stubbornness showed—the stubbornness that her mother was famous for. Remembering her childhood, his mind conjured a single thought.

'_She was so adorable when she was younger, with those cute little pigtails, and her precious little smile…_' Jimmy thought, smiling nostalgically.

Her brother, on the other hand, demonstrated none of the traits of either his father or his mother. Jimmy was even more pleasantly surprised by this, and he always enjoyed hearing his son's unique view on things. He enjoyed learning every aspect of Jake's very new and very distinctive personality.

He especially enjoyed his sense of humor. Although, no one really knew where _that _came from though because the other members of the Neutron-Vortex family did _not_ exhibit a good sense of humor.

'_I still wonder where he got that from._' Jimmy thought, as he chuckled comically to himself. Jake certainly didn't get his comedic talents from his father's _dry_ sense of humor. Every day was new adventure with those two. Jimmy was reminiscing for a short while, before snapping back to reality and to the matter at hand.

"Anything further sir?" Aria asked, snapping him out of his happy memories.

"Yes, actually, there _is_ one more thing." Jimmy stated, a little uneasy.

"Yes sir?" Aria responded, ready to oblige.

"Would you prepare '_Protocol: Danger Close_' for implementation." Jimmy requested.

"There is no need, sir. Your wife has already seen to that." Aria responded nonchalantly.

"…She _has_?" Jimmy asked, not quite believing the statement.

"Yes sir, that is correct." Aria responded.

"Are you _positive_?" Jimmy asked, making sure.

"Yes sir; I am." Aria responded, sure of herself.

"…Well, very well then." Jimmy said, unsure of how to process this information.

Cindy absolutely detested that protocol. She _hated_ the idea of having to use it, of _ever_ having to use it. It was their last resort.

But, then again, if she had prepared the protocol for initiation, the she must have realized the seriousness of the situation faster than Jimmy could have guessed. She was _never_ one to play the "dumb blonde" role; if she knew something was wrong, she would fix it.

He loved that about her. She was, after all, nearly a genius herself. Jimmy reasoned that Cindy must have done as Aria said and prepared '_Danger Close_' to be used.

"Of course. Is there anything else, sir?" Aria responded, eagerly awaiting further instructions.

"Yes, keep an eye on the kids, and let me know when they arrive home." Jimmy ordered.

"Very well sir." Aria responded, performing her duties without question.

"Thank you, Ari—" Jimmy started but was cut off by Aria's timed alert.

"The children are beginning their decent; they have at last arrived at their destination. They are home." Aria stated.

"…Wow, well _that _was fast. Thank you Aria. That will be all for now." Jimmy responded.

"Of course sir." Aria replied, her face fading from the view on his dashboard.

Jimmy continued to speed towards his destination with a newfound excitement and eagerness. He engaged his own graviton boosters. It was his turn to be a little reckless.

* * *

><p>Jake and Jenny continued to speed over the streets of Retroville, aiming to reach their destination in record time. Whatever <em>was<em> wrong, Jenny was not going to wait to see what it was. They finally spotted the familiar sight of the entrance to their neighborhood; their subdivision was just up ahead.

Jenny's bike began to steadily slow to a stop, as the two siblings began descending. Their target was a little ways below them. They had reached their destination; they were home. The bike slowed as it approached the large white, two-story house. It was fairly large; however, it was not large enough to dwarf the other houses on the street or in the subdivision.

It looked normal. There was, however, a splendor about this specific house, a splendor that was noticed mostly by the members of the family who resided there. Unfortunately, today, a depressing darkness loomed over the house, a darkness the two sensed immediately.

The bike gradually descended and the two looked around the property as it did so. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but they had learned through _many_ experiences with dangerous situations that things were not always as they seemed.

Jenny immediately noticed her mother's car. The vehicle was an exquisite, expensive-looking silver Audi Coupe, equipped with the best in jet-propulsion technology.

Cindy _rarely _used her car's hover feature though. She appreciated that Jimmy had upgraded her vehicle, but she preferred the "normal" mode of transportation. Although Jimmy was the one who upgraded the car, Cindy was the one who purchased it. Cindy preferred to "pull her own weight," and, while she appreciated everything that Jimmy did for her, she preferred to do things herself.

It was odd for Cindy to be home at this time, but with the phone call Jenny had received earlier, it didn't seem too out of place. She only hoped her mother was alright, but she didn't worry too much about that. She knew how well her mother could take care of herself.

Jenny looked around the corner of her house as her bike had come to a complete stop. She quickly dismounted the bike and landed on her feet, making sure to stay quiet the entire time. Jake, however, was still a little woozy from the ride, and he was not so quick to adjust.

"Damn Jen. Next time you do _that_, count me _out_!" Jake whispered fiercely, as he carefully got off the bike.

"Shhh!" Jenny whispered in response, trying to quiet him down. She did not want to alert anyone—enemy or ally—to their presence. She was very good at judging situations, and she had a bad feeling about this. She motioned for Jake to follow her, quietly.

Jake was now aware of the seriousness of the situation; his sister was not the only one of the two of them who had faced fatal situations and mortal danger before. He accepted her leadership without question.

He nodded in response and began to trace her footsteps exactly, as the two carefully made their way to the front porch. Jenny was preparing to breach the front door, but Jake shook his head violently to her idea.

"We should go in quick and quiet. If there is _more _than one of them, then they'll have the advantage the moment we bust through there. If we go in _quietly_, though, we'll take them by surprise." Jake suggested, still whispering.

Jenny nodded in response. She took out her cell phone and punched a series of buttons on its surface, and the device morphed into some sort of lock-picking device. Jake looked at her with a confused expression.

"Why don't you just use your keys?" he asked, puzzled.

"If I do that, then the tumblers in the locks will be heard. They make a pretty loud sound, and it is pretty quite in there." Jenny responded, pointing out the flaw in her brother's logic. Jake nodded in response.

Jenny proceeded to pick the lock in record time. Jake was surprised at her efficiency with the task. '_How many banks has she cased?_' Jake thought, semi-sarcastically, to himself.

The lock popped silently, and Jenny eased the door slightly ajar, so as not to make a sound. She then pressed another combination of buttons on her "phone" and it morphed, once again.

She began to fiddle with the new device, and she started pulling and pushing different parts of it in and out, until the final result was achieved.

She held the newly formed weapon in her hand, and she then proceeded to pull what looked like a small pill from her jeans pocket. She inserted it into the barrel of the weapon in her hand, which closely resembled a small handgun. Jake watched his sister in slight awe and amazement, his left eyebrow raised.

"What?" Jenny responded to his expression.

"Oh, nothing, '_Tomb Raider_.'" Jake responded jokingly.

"Oh, please. After all the stuff that _we've _been through is _this_," she motioned to the weapon in her hand, "really _that_ surprising?" she asked in a soft whisper.

"Well… No. But, still I didn't expect you to turn your cell phone into a _Glock_." Jake responded smugly. "You've been spending _way_ too much time in the lab to do that." he commented comically.

"Are you done?" Jenny asked, annoyed.

Jake nodded his head, comical tone and expression vanishing. She was _mad_.

"Good, because, in case you haven't noticed, our house might be under siege. People—the _vicious, violent, homicidal_ kind—might be in there right now, waiting to _kill_ us, and all you can do is crack jokes." she finished, still in a whisper as her temper boiled to a climax.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just… …Just… …I just don't want to think of what might—" Jake started but was interrupted by his sister.

"I know Jake, I know. I don't really want to think about it either, but if we want to end _right_, then we have act accordingly. We have to acknowledge _all_ of the possibilities… …Even the bad ones." Jenny responded somberly. Jake nodded in response, accepting his responsibility and the gravity of the situation.

"And, it's not a '_Glock_,' you moron. It's a plasmatic, warp pistol." she said, gesturing to her handgun. Her tone was a bit lighter than before and her sincere mockery of her brother put a smile on his face.

"You bring a plasma-firing, face-melting weapon to school, _every_ day?" Jake asked, with an unidentifiable tone.

"Of course. Why, does that bother you?" she asked.

"Nope. I just didn't know my sister was such a badass." Jake responded, smirking. Jenny smiled at this. Jake looked up to his older sister, and while he didn't exactly hide that fact, she cherished every single time he openly admired her.

"Of course you did. Now, c'mon." Jenny replied, ready to enter the house.

"_Wait!_" Jake hissed in his hushed tone.

"What is it?" she responded, a little shocked by his tone.

"How come you get a weapon, and I don't?" Jake asked, eyeing her. "What am I, your human shield?" he asked, and a hint of his former comical tone returned, but Jenny could tell he was mostly solemn and serious.

"Calm down. I'll go in first. You follow close behind. _If _there are in fact enemies in the house, then they'll probably have weapons too." she addressed his concerns

"My point exactly." he responded, not seeing what her point was.

"I mean, if I take one of them out, you grab his weapon, and use it." she explained herself.

"…_Ohh_. Gotchya." Jake responded, seeing her logic.

"Ready?" she asked. He nodded.

She silently tipped the door open and scanned the front hallway of their house, gun leveled at arm's length. There was no one in sight. The two siblings cautiously entered the house. They proceeded along the corridor, sweeping for possible threats as they went.

They silently dropped their book bags at the end of hallway, so as to not have the extra weight slow the two down. Jenny was quick, quiet, and efficient.

She scanned and cleared every single room in the house with speed, silence, and effectiveness. No one was found—no one at all.

Jenny's eyes narrowed at the suspicious emptiness of the house. Jake's sentiment was the same, and he motioned to the living room; she nodded in agreement. She held her weapon at the ready and proceeded to the living room. She scanned the room once more, making sure she hadn't missed something.

"Aria!" she beckoned the program.

"Yes, ma'am." the face appeared on the wall panel and responded, almost immediately.

"What happened here? Has anyone unauthorized made entry on the house?" Jenny asked seriously. She did not address the face on the wall as she talked. She continued to scan the room, as if expecting something to jump out and surprise her.

"No, ma'am. My defensive systems are still online and active. No one besides yourselves and your mother are currently inside of the house." Aria responded matter-of-factly.

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Where is my mother?" she asked the program, still scanning her surroundings, as if she did not trust Aria's report that all was well.

"She is currently downstairs in the lab." Aria responded.

"Good. Open lab access entrance 21-Z, if you would please." Jenny commanded.

"Of course, ma'am." Aria responded, obeying her superior and opening the secret entrance to the lab.

Jenny motioned for her brother to follow her as she made her down to the lab. He obeyed and followed her path, always one step behind her. They made their way to the bottom of the steps and they encountered a heavy metal door. A scanner was located to the left side of the door. As they approached the door, Aria's voice rang out.

"Identification please!" she demanded.

"Aria, you _know_ who it is. You _just_ finished talking to us." Jenny responded, a little annoyed.

"I apologize ma'am. It is simply a formality. I cannot allow you entrance without proper identification." the program responded.

Jenny rolled her eyes, but she knew that Aria spoke the truth. Her father was meticulous about security, and in the current situation, she couldn't fault him for that. "Identification: Jennifer Aurora Neutron-Vortex." Jenny gave into the program's demand.

"Confirm identity." Aria commanded. Jenny sighed as she plucked a strand of her hair and held it up to the scanner. "Identification confirmed." Aria replied. However, the doors did not budge.

"Aria!" Jenny responded, her temper slightly higher than before.

"I am sorry ma'am, but I still need master Jacob's identification." Aria responded.

Jake stepped forward and spoke directly to the program. "Identification: Jacob Isaac Neutron-Vortex." Jacob stated.

"Confirm identification." Aria responded. Jake stepped forward and plucked a strand of his auburn hair, holding it up to the scanner. "Identification confirmed." Aria responded.

"On, _really_, you don't say!" Jenny responded, more annoyed than before.

"Jen, calm down." Jake urged his sister, and she relaxed and loosened her tense form.

"Welcome Jacob. Welcome Jennifer." Aria responded, opening the sliding metal doors.

Jenny rolled her eyes and stepped through the open doors. Jake followed, chuckling slightly at his sister's annoyance.

They entered the lab and the doors slid silently shut behind them. The both took no notice of this because they were both used to it. Their eyes scanned the fairly well-lit room.

The metal-themed decor and concrete walls and floors would have looked drab and dull, if not for the sleek shades of electric blue and violent violet and purple that the walls were covered in.

This lab was _substantially_ larger than Jimmy's childhood clubhouse. It had multiple rooms, and here, in the main room, there were tables upon tables that each were littered with invention after invention, each organized according to size, shape, color and "other" attributes.

The main room had four doors at each corner of the room, each branching off to a different section of the lab. One went to Jenny's private lab. One went Jake's lab. One went Jimmy's lab, which had inventions and written theorems that sometimes were too complicated for even _his_ children to understand.

The last door at the lower left corner is where the children were headed. It led to Cindy's private lab. Her lab was more practical and housed more common ideas and inventions—inventions that were sensible and useful, without the possibility of going haywire. Jimmy had instructed Cindy on the usage of most of his inventions, procedures, and protocols—especially the ones that involved the defense of their home or children. Cindy had been a quick learner, and as such, she had been quick to adapt her own form of invention-making. Jimmy was far more invested in his inventions than anyone else, seeing as that was his career, in a matter of speaking.

Jimmy, for lack of a better term, was for all intents and purposes, a "private contractor." He had made quite a large sum of money breaking down, disproving, or completely destroying almost _every_ well-accepted scientific theory out there including, "_String Theory_," "_Gain Theory_," and "_Real Theory_."

This was not how he made his money, however. He then used his massive intellect the _recreate_, _revise_, and _rewrite_ each of these theories, and he had done a much better job of proving these new theories than any scientist could have possibly fathomed.

He had his wife, however, to thank for getting him out of the _many_ legal disputes that had arisen, due to his "infringement" on other scientists' theories. His wife, being one of the _best_ lawyers in the countries, had easily, cleverly, and cunningly defused these explosive situations. They made an excellent team.

Jimmy now worked as a consultant to both, NASA, and the United Sates' Department of Defense. The Department of Defense required his services because of his large intellect and his former experiences of saving the world form imminent destruction. Due to his new positions as "consultants," however, he _rarely_ had to leave his home for work, but he was very well-respected in both organizations. He was well-known all over the entire planet, and so was his "shark" of a wife.

The two teenagers approached the door leading to their mother's lab, and they stopped in front of the door. As they did so, Jenny removed the pill-shaped projectile from her gun, thus disarming it. She then pressed another combination of buttons on her weapon, and it changed back into its cell phone form. She then put the device back into her pocket.

Jenny knocked once, in an elaborate and rhythmic pattern; it was _their_ knock. The door _immediately_ flung open, only to have a grateful Cindy fling herself at her children and trap them both in an embrace. She kissed them both on the forehead, and she increased her vice-grip hold on them, as the embrace continued to strangle them.

"…Ah… …Mom… …You're, kinda… …Strangl—" Jake chocked out and Cindy released them.

"Sorry." Cindy smiled at her children. "I'm just so happy that you two are alright." she sighed in relief.

"Yeah, mom. We're happy that you're alright too." Jenny responded truthfully.

"_BARK_, _BARK_!" Goddard commented, as he approached the children.

"Hey boy!" Jake said happily.

"Hey Goddard." Jenny said nonchalantly. Goddard leaped over the couch in the center of the room, and he landed right in front of Jake. Jake bent down and began to affectionately pet his dog.

"We were pretty worried too." Jenny stated.

"Yeah, seriously, we were going crazy on the way over here just worrying." Jake said honestly.

Cindy smiled at her son. "Well, I'm fine. It's a good thing that you both arrived so quickly. …Hold on, how _exactly _did you to get here so fast, anyways?" she eyed her children carefully.

"…Well, um…" Jake trailed off, avoiding eye contact with his mother.

"I put a set a graviton boosters on my bike, and we used the—" Jenny's explanation was cut short by Cindy's rage.

"_YOU WHAT?_" Cindy fumed.

"We, um, we kind of put—" Jake was also cut off by his mother.

"Don't you try to defend her. Do you realize just how _reckless_ that is? You could have both _died_!" Cindy finished, addressing her daughter. Her emotion of worry and shock superseded her rage.

"I know mom. I'm sorry. I just couldn't wait to find out what was going on, and my mind was thinking the worst, and I-I-I—" Jenny was started, but was interrupted by her mother, once again.

"Oh, honestly, I don't care. I'm just happy that the two of you are _alright_. Just, please, promise me that you won't do something so stupid ever again." she demanded, but it was stated more like a question than a command.

"We _promise_!" they responded in unison.

"Good." their mother responded. Cindy's relief was apparent as it washed over her.

"Hey mom? Where's, ah… …Where's dad?" Jenny asked quizzically.

"Oh, he'll be here shortly. He's on his way back." Cindy responded, her worry now shifting from her children back to her husband.

"_Back_? Back from _where_?" Jake asked, curious.

"He is coming all the way back from D.C." Cindy responded.

'_Uh Oh…_' the two siblings thought simultaneously. If he was in D.C., then that meant he just had a meeting with the Department of Defense.

Usually that meant that they needed his help, and if they needed _his_ help, then it was usually a pretty big problem.

"Man, Secretary Roamer is such a _tool_. Can't he do _anything_ without dad holding his hand?" Jake asked, slipping back into his comical tone. He was referring to Secretary of Defense Jason Roamer, who, apparently, need Jimmy's help a lot. Cindy let out a light chuckle.

"I guess not." she responded, slightly amused at the truth of her son's worlds.

Jenny, however, was not so amused. If her mother and her father were _this_ worried, _and_ Jimmy was just with Secretary Roamer, then that only meant bad news—_very_ bad news—was coming.

"Did he say what was going on?" Jenny asked, wanting information. What she _really_ wanted to ask was: '_Did he say what was **wrong**?_'

"He mentioned _some_ of it, but none of the specifics. He couldn't talk about it over the phone. Don't worry about him; he'll be fine, and he'll explain everything when he gets home." she tried to calm her children's nerves.

Although Jenny was still slightly uneasy and unnerved, Jake seemed to be doing just fine.

He plopped himself down on the couch that was located along the south wall of Cindy's lab. He laid out horizontally, reaching across the couch to open the miniature fridge located close by. He pulled out a can of '_Purple Flurp_,' and cracked it open. He began to guzzle it down. Cindy and Jenny watched his actions in awe, as if they were watching some previously unobserved phenomena.

"Jake, how can you be _so_ calm at a time like this?" Jenny questioned, a little angered by his behavior.

"Oh, leave him be. You know he doesn't deal with stress well. If the time comes for action, he won't be so indifferent." Cindy defended her son's actions.

"Thanks mom." Jake replied, smiling.

"Ughh, you are _such_ a 'momma's boy'!" Jenny retorted.

"Jenny…" Cindy tried to calm her daughter down.

"Yeah, and so _what_? At least I'm not some overgrown little 'daddy's girl!'" Jake snapped back.

"Jake…" Cindy tried the same thing on her son.

"_WHAT?_" Jenny was about to snap, herself, when her mother intervened.

"_BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!_" Cindy yelled, and the two arguing siblings stopped, dead in their tracks.

"…S-Sorry, mom." The two replied in unison.

"You know there is absolutely _nothing_ wrong with being a '_momma's boy_.'" Cindy assured her son. "I think you owe your sister an apology." Cindy requested.

"Oh, c'mon, that's not fair. Jenny started that whole argument, anyways. Besides, you _both _know being a '_daddy's girl_' is _way _better than being a '_momma's boy_'. Some guys—weird ones, mind you—are actually attracted to that kind of stuff. But what girl would _ever _be attracted to a '_momma's boy_'?" Jake asked, exposing the unfairness of sister's actions. She had in fact _already_ gotten him back for his cynical comment, thus his apology was unnecessary.

Cindy walked over to her son and smiled at him. "Any girl would be _lucky_ to have you." she said honestly. This comment jogged Jake's mind of something he had almost forgotten. Jake whipped out his cell phone and began to press some buttons. Cindy and Jenny eyed him carefully, one knowing what was he was doing, the other completely clueless.

"Who are you calling?" Cindy asked her son.

"_Why_? Are the phones tapped or something? …Or can I still use them?" Jake asked curiously.

"No. You can use them, but _why_?" Cindy responded, genuine curiosity spilling over the final word.

"…I-I just need to call someone…" Jake trailed off.

"_Who_?" Cindy eyed her son carefully, a sly smile appearing on her face. She knew where this was going.

"His _girlfriend_!" Jenny interjected, a tone of uncharacteristic immaturity filling her voice, especially on the last word.

"_Jenny_!" Jake responded, a little embarrassed.

"Awww, isn't that nice. I sure hope she's a good girl… …_Not_ like that _tramp_ Sarah Heart!" Cindy replied.

"No mom. Don't worry. She' pretty cool. In all honesty, I think Jake here might have to work a little harder to even _deserve_ her." Jenny assured her mother. Cindy always took her opinion to heart.

"_Well_, who is this mystery girl?" Cindy asked. Her genuine interest was giving way to her very _uncharacteristic _romantic side, as a smile crossed her face.

"…Well, it's um, it's—" Jake was interrupted by his sister, once again.

"It's Lucy Gallagher." Jenny responded before her brother could choke out his response.

"Ohhh, she is _such_ a sweetheart!" Cindy exclaimed, happy at her son's taste in girls. "Of course, her brother isn't exactly a charmer, but then you'll only being seeing him on holidays anyways. People don't really keep in contact with their in-laws that much. He'll probably be coming around for his nieces and nephews' birthdays, but depending on how _many _kids you two have, that shouldn't be _too _bad." Cindy finished, already planning out her son's future.

Jenny chuckled at this.

"_Mom!_" Jake responded, clearly chagrinned and taken off guard. "We're just _dating_; we're not getting married or anything!" Jake tried to placate his mother. The thought of a future with Lucy didn't scare him in the least. Actually, what scared him was that mother was planning everything out, and she was already expecting kids.

"…Oh, of course." Cindy replied, slowly coming out of her daydream. "Now Jacob, I expect you to be on your best behavior with this girl. You are to treat as a lady should be treated, and you are to be a perfect gentleman. Do you _understand_?" Cindy asked, eyeing him seriously.

'_Man, first Jen, and now mom? What is with everybody? Am I really **that** bad?_' Jake thought to himself. "Yes mom, I understand." Jake responded. He would hurt himself before he let _anything_ happen to Lucy.

"Good." she replied, her smile and former _uncharacteristic_ giddiness returning. However, before Cindy could harass her son further about his new relationship, Aria interrupted them.

"Master James has arrived." the program stated matter-of-factly.

They were all surprised by the sudden voice. Their confusion quickly passed though. The three looked up at the wall panel that bore the holographic face, and they nodded in Response.

"Thank you, Aria." Cindy replied.

"Of course, ma'am." Aria responded, her face fading from view. The three stopped and looked at each other, eyebrows raised.

They then hurriedly ran through Cindy's private lab, back through the main central lab, past the metallic doors, and up the stairs, leading to the living room. Goddard followed them all the way. Just as they came into the main hallway of the house, the front door at the other end of the corridor opened. It took some time before the genius with the worried expression came into view.

Jimmy' head looked up, and he instantly noticed his family standing there. He rushed through the hallway, his look of worry now completely gone.

He grabbed his children in a crushing and calming embrace and gave them each a light kiss on the forehead. "Thank goodness you're alright!" Jimmy exclaimed.

Jimmy released his children and they regained their composure. "Yeah, dad. We're happy to see you too." Jenny responded, taken off guard by her father's tone of apparent relief.

Jimmy nodded and smiled at his daughter. He then noticed his wife, and before she could even acknowledge his presence, he rushed her. His lips instantly made contact with hers. While she wasn't expecting this show of affection, she didn't exactly dislike it either. She briefly responded to the kiss before they broke apart. They separated and looked at each other with intent and affection; however, the smile that briefly graced Cindy's face vanished into a look of concern and caution.

"_EWWWW!_" their children commented, their faces slightly contorted in disgust. "C'mon dad, seriously; I mean we're right here!" Jake said, not wanting to see any more "affection" displayed between the two.

"…Heh, heh… …Um, sorry." Jimmy answered his son's plea. Goddard approached his master, and Jimmy bent down and lightly petted his canine friend.

"Are you okay?" Jimmy said, turning to, and uneasily addressing his wife. She nodded in response.

"Jimmy, what's going _on_?" Cindy asked her husband, her look of concern now quite apparent on her face. The two kids looked on in anticipation, awaiting his response.

"I'll explain _everything_ in a little. But first, would you do me a favor?" he asked his wife, as though it was the last favor he would ever ask for.

"…_Okay_…" Cindy responded, her uneasiness returning.

"Would you please go and call Sheen, Libby, Carl, and Resa?" he requested.

"Okay…" she responded, still wondering where he was going with this.

"Tell them to meet me at the emergency entrance to the lab. …Oh, and make sure they bring the kids." Jimmy clarified his request.

"Anything _else_?" Cindy asked, curious.

"Actually, yes. Make sure that they bring some extra change of clothes, and some necessities." he, at last, finished his request.

"…Um, okay." Cindy responded, as she exited the room and walked into the computer room, picking up the cordless phone on the desk. She began to dial the numbers.

Jimmy walked back to the front door, which was still wide open, and he closed and locked it. He then walked back over to his children in the middle of the hallway.

"Dad, what's going on?" Jenny asked, tired of being kept in the dark.

"I'll explain everything when your mother returns." he reasoned. Jenny nodded her head.

"…Oh, and _you_, young lady," Jimmy started, pointing at his daughter with a smirk on his face, "have some explaining to do about a certain speed enhancer on you hover-bike." Jimmy finished.

"…What…? …H-How do you know about that?" Jenny asked quizzically. She could not believe that she had been caught.

"I know _everything_, remember?" Jimmy stated, his smirk turning into a smile.

Jake chuckled at his sister's situation.

"Ughh," Jenny let out a deep breath. She knew who was responsible for her father finding out about her "upgrades." "Aria…" Jenny sighed, as she silently said the name of the snitch.

A small section of wall beside them slid open, revealing yet another viewing screen. The wall panel beside them turned on, and on it appeared the face of a familiar program. "Yes, ma'am?" Aria responded, ready to follow orders.

"You just can't keep a secret, can you?" Jenny asked, slightly annoyed.

"Don't blame her. She was just following her programming." Jimmy defended his creation's actions.

"That is correct ma'am. I am sorry for any inconvenience that I may have caused you." Aria replied apologetically.

"Don't apologize for saving her life." Jimmy responded, somewhat disappointed in his daughter's actions, although he was also clearly impressed by her abilities.

"I'm sorry dad. I won't do it again. I was just trying to get home a quickly as possible. I had no idea what was going on, and I-I—" Jenny started her explanation, but was cut off by her father's understanding words.

"I know. I'm sorry that you felt like that. I'm just happy that you two are alright." Jimmy finished, truthfully.

At this point, Cindy retuned from the computer room. "They're all on their way. They're bringing the kids and some provisions." she said, referring to her friends that she had just called.

"Okay, good. Thanks Cin." Jimmy responded, thankful for his wife's cooperativeness.

"Yeah, um, no problem." Cindy responded, still a little uneasy. Jimmy nodded in response.

"Jimmy, what's going on?" Cindy asked curiously.

"Before I explain anything, I have to do something." he replied.

Cindy raised an eyebrow. "Aria, initiate '_Protocol: Danger Close_'!" Jimmy commanded.

Cindy's eyes widened and she immediately looked at him and thought a single, astonished and accusing thought.

'_Are you **insane**?_' she asked him this without saying a word. She _couldn't_ say anything because she was far too stunned.

Jake and Jenny were both confused, and the expressions of puzzlement on their faces did nothing to hide that. Jenny raised an eyebrow, and before Aria could respond to her creator's order, the two siblings simultaneously thought, '_what is Danger Close?_'

**A/N: …Well, um, what's going on? I'm kind of lost on this whole "_Danger-Close_" thing, and that's pretty bad, because I WROTE IT! Well, at least we know that Carl is alive and well. …For now, anyway. …And who's Resa? Has Carl found himself a girl? (I knew that big ol' teddy bear had it in him). What has got both Jimmy _and_ Cindy so worried? What could the Dep. Of Defense possibly want with Jimmy? Well there is only one to find out what's going on: stay tuned for the next update. R&R!**


	4. Unknown Enemies

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything affiliated with said franchise. I also do not own Styrofoam. That is simply a formality, because I don't want Styrofoam Inc. coming after me for mentioning their product without giving credit where credit is due. …So, without further ado, I give FULL credit to Styrofoam Inc., for the design and creation of Styrofoam, DUH!**

**Author Announcement(s): This chapter contains ONLY OCs, and it should help to better explain their personalities, attitudes, and actions. Oh, and just to clarify, I am NOT CREATING the relationships between the characters, I am SIMPLY DESCRIBING them. These relationships have existed for a LONG time in this story, as the children are now teenagers, so they have known and grown with each other for A WHILE! As a matter of fact, I have published/posted a series of one-shots, to describe and tell stories of their past experiences, and it is called: "_GTNG Ongoing OneShots_," and it HIGHLY recommended that you read/review them. It'll add GREAT insight to THIS story, although it is NOT necessary. So simply keep the fact that all of these friends have known each other for while in your minds. …Anyways, this chapter takes place after the previous chapter, and before Sheen, Libby, Carl, and Resa arrive at Jimmy's house. Here is Chap. 4. Enjoy!**

***Note/Notice*: The horizontal dividing line, in this chapter, indicates the beginning or the end of a flashback.**

**IV. Unknown Enemies**

Cruel chills ran throughout the souls of the seven friends.

The seven friends stood there, shocked, speechless, and in awe. They were outside of their high school, standing there with expressions of alarm and terror painted clearly on their faces. Ryan looked around and gauged the reactions and expressions of his friends.

Eric was on his phone, undoubtedly with one of his parents, or both. Sam stood close by him, probably waiting for her chance to speak with her parents. Lacey and Sean stood off to the side, hands interlocked, and they seemed to be awaiting instructions.

Lucy stood some distance away, her cell phone in her hand. She watched her phone intently, as if she expected it to get up and talk to her. Collin was standing very close to his sister, eyeing her, and his facial expressions ranged from alertness, to alarm, to affection.

This was _not_ the first time they had been in this kind of situation, but this time was somehow _different_.

They had all been in _extremely_ dangerous situations before, but they had _never_ seen their fearless, fierce, and brilliant leaders act so surprised and shocked.

Jenny was not the only unspoken leader of her group. Jake had gone on adventures with his sister and her friends for some time, until he was old enough to take his _own _friends on his _own _adventures.

Jenny's adventures and experiences were ones that were predicated and provoked by the urge to learn and discover, while her brother's "trips" were the result of his whimsical, flimsy, and fun-seeking personality.

He was a genius, and was quite frankly, as smart as his sister, but he was _far_ more able to relate to and appreciate his less intelligent friends and their qualities and quirks than Jenny was able to—not that Jenny had _that _much trouble relating to her less intelligent friends.

Actually she was better than most geniuses at relating to her average friends, unlike her mother. Jake had gone on a few adventures with Jenny and her group—Lacey, Ryan, Sean, and Collin—before he started taking his own group on adventures of his own choosing.

His group was smaller than his sister's cluster of comrades; however, his gang seemed more apt and adjusted to having fun than the "boring old people," as Jake sometimes referred to his sister's friends. Not everyone in Jenny's group was "boring," however.

Collin and Sean were all about having fun, and they had managed to _severely_ screw things up on a number of Jenny's missions. However, Jenny's extreme temper had stopped them from performing these "fun" tasks so frequently. While Jenny always tried to keep order and punctuality on her adventures, something had _always_ managed to go wrong. Her ventures and exploits seemed to _always_ be disaster-prone—just like her father's adventures.

Jake's ventures, however, were actually _intended_ to have some degree of excitement and endangerment, because, although he was genius, he didn't seem to be that "smart," regarding danger and peril. He actually _wanted_ a challenge and some excitement and entertainment on _every_ one of his quests.

He would be happy if he got to fight a villain, save his friends, or get saved—if he ever was saved, it was usually done by Lucy—and one of his adventures would not be complete without that danger or excitement. He was supported in his generic design for his adventures by most of his friends, including one of the two girls in his group.

Jake's group was smaller than his sister's gang, but it had its advantages. It had two perfectly arranged sub-groups. The two boys, Jake and Eric, made up one sub-group, while the two girls, Lucy and Sam, made up the other. Each sub-group consisted of two friends, _best_ friends. How Sam and Lucy got along so well baffled both Eric and Jake, but somehow, both of their personalities seemed to complement each other.

Samantha Estevez always voted to include danger and action on their outings, because she _always_ needed something to keep her busy—due to her short attention span. She especially loved things that involved her getting a satisfying shock, or _anything_ pertaining to "_Ultra-Lord_." Sam was certainly fearless, and she made their adventures memorable.

In fact, when Jake had taken them to tour the inside of an active volcano—and they had all found themselves tapped, surrounded by a sea of boiling lava—Sam had found it "cool," and she actually wanted to stay a while longer and, as she put it, "see what the lava would do." Lucy and Jake had to lead them through their quick and exhausting escape, all the while dragging a protesting Sam behind them.

Eric simply laughed at his sister's behavior. Eric was always anticipating an adventure and some danger to go with it. Lucy was the _only_ member of Jake's group that actually pointed out the flaws in his plan to include danger and peril on every one of their adventures. However, she was outvoted _every_ single time.

No matter how many times the four of them almost died on one of Jake's quests, Jake and the Estevez siblings seemed to always want to do it again. Lucy seemed to be the only one with any common sense, regarding this matter. Even her best friend was against her in this department.

Unfortunately, even though Lucy was the only one who saw the true stupidity of Jake's plans, she seemed to be the one who always had to save her adventurous friends.

Eric finished talking to whoever was on the other side of the phone, and he passed his cell phone to his sister. Ryan watched this across the parking lot, as he carefully observed the situation.

'_Something is wrong. I've **never** seen Jen act like that!_' Ryan thought to himself.

'_But then again, we have been in some pretty bad situations, but, still… …I don't know. This seems… …This feels **different**, somehow. …And that look she gave me…_' he muted his mind halfway through his thought, searching his brain for the right words to describe the expression on her face.

'_She was trying to tell me… …To tell me what I wanted to tell her_.' Ryan surmised, sorry that he neither of them had fully admitted their feelings.

'_I'm so tired of this, this… …This **stupid** arguing! She knows how I feel! Why does she have to be so damn stubborn? Is having all the "power" really that important to her?_' He finished his angry and aggressive mental vent.

His mind flashed back to the time when the two were marooned on that asteroid for a little over a week. That was the _only_ time that he felt that he had a genuine connection with her. He practically spilled his heart all over her, but the moment they had returned, she had wiped the entire experience from her memory, as if it had never happened.

She was a very strong individual, and he admired her for that, but sometimes it _really_ got on his nerves. She refused to be someone's "property," and thus, she was completely devoted to not admitting any feelings for _any_ boy. This was important for her to do because there were _a lot _of guys after her. Most guys took the hint, and they quickly stopped harassing her. Ryan, however, seemed to be the only boy willing to put up with her stubbornness, her sternness, and her inability to express emotion.

From the first time he saw her, so many years ago, he fell in love with her. He still remembered the first words she said to him, "What are _you_ looking at? What, are you mute, or are you just too _stupid_ to know how to talk?"

Those certainly would be harsh words for an eight-year-old; Jenny, however, was no ordinary eight-year-old. That was the first day that he had seen her. It was the first day that the Neutron-Vortex family had moved into his neighborhood. He should have been insulted, but he was _far_ too stunned and taken aback that such a pretty girl could be so _mean_.

Sam finished her phone call, and she handed the cell phone back to her brother. Eric took the phone and nodded. He put the phone back in his pocket, and the two siblings began to approach the other friends, all of them clustered together in a semi-circle. Only Lucy and her brother were missing from the group.

Lucy noticed that the Estevez siblings had joined the group of her friends, and she began to walk towards the semi-circle of friends, worry and concern still clearly written on her face, and her phone still in her hands. Collin followed his sister's path, and the older of the two Gallagher siblings was the last to join the group of his friends.

"Hey Eric, who was on the phone?" Ryan asked quizzically.

"…Huh…?" Eric responded, still slightly dazed, as all of the friends seemed to be.

"Ugghh, who was on the phone?" Ryan repeated, somewhat annoyed at Eric's confounded condition.

"Oh, it was my mom." Eric replied, slightly somber.

"…_Well_, what did she say?" Ryan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She asked where we were, and she told us to stay here, and that she and dad would come and get us." Sam responded on her brother's behalf. She seemed to be more attentive than her brother, which was certainly unusual.

"Come and _get_ you?" Lucy interjected, addressing her friend. There was a questioning tone in her voice.

"Yeah, they're gonna take us over to Uncle Jimmy's and Aunt Cindy's house." Sam replied, looking saddened.

"They're taking you to Jenny's house?" Ryan asked, now intrigued. The two siblings simply nodded. The look on their faces showed nothing but worry. Apparently, their parents were quite concerned with their well-being, and Jenny's parents seemed to be equally worried.

'_This is bad!_' Ryan thought to himself. The rest of the group, undoubtedly, thought the same thing. Jenny's parents _never_ worried about anything.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked, getting to the point.

"…I-I—" Eric was cut off by his sister.

"We _don't_ know. They wouldn't give us any specifics, but it sounds _really_ bad." Sam stated, her sadness deepening. Ryan nodded, and he turned away from his friends.

He began to walk away from the group, before being called back by Lacey—who seemed to be giving an order, rather than waiting for one, as she appeared to be. "_Hey!_" she shouted. "Where do you think you're going?" she inquired.

Ryan was slow to respond, but thankfully, Lacey gave him time to do so. "…I'm going to go and get the '_emergency_' supplies. I'll meet you guys back here in a sec." he finally gave her an answer.

Lacey raised an eyebrow, and she looked slightly stunned. Sean and Collin looked somewhat confused, but she knew _exactly_ what he was talking about.

"Are you _sure_ about that? I mean, shouldn't they only be used in _emergencies_?" Lacey asked, now clearly worried. She was not, however, worried about the same thing as the others. She was worried about something _else_.

"Lace, I'm pretty sure that this _is_ an emergency." Ryan responded somberly. He turned away from her, and he began to make his way across the large student parking lot, which was mostly empty by now.

He walked across the parking lot, his pace slow and determined, but his mind was elsewhere. He was constantly getting closer to his objective: his red and black motorcycle.

He finally reached his target. He stopped in front of his bike, and he contemplated what he was about to do. His mind was still processing his actions, and it needed a little time to catch up with his body. He couldn't believe what he was about to do. The last time that they had used their "abilities" was after the experiments.

Jenny hadn't even fully tested the serums, but he had to be prepared, and Jenny had given them to him for a reason. He walked to the back of his bike, and looked down at the small storage compartment that was attached to his bike's rear end.

He sighed heavily, and he popped the compartment open. There, inside the compartment, was a small miniature metallic box. Jenny had given him the box a few Christmases ago. She wasn't especially good at picking out gifts, but the fact she had bothered to get him anything at all meant that she cared, and he knew that.

He grasped the box in his hand and removed it from the compartment of his bike. He closed the compact compartment, and he locked it. He then proceeded to make his way back to his friends at the far side of the parking lot.

He approached the group, and they all watched him, wide-eyed. No one, except Lacey, knew what was in the metal box, but based on his demeanor, they could guess that it was important. They all watched him awe.

Lacey watched him as well, more in fear, than in awe. They all gathered around him in circle. Ryan knelt down and set the box down in the center of the circle of friends. They looked at him, confused, all except for Lacey. She knew exactly what was in the box.

"…W-What _is_ it?" Lucy asked, still in awe.

Ryan looked up at her with a serious, yet endearing expression, and he opened the box. Inside, on top of a removable layer of Styrofoam padding, were nine syringes, each containing a different color liquid, and the tip of each syringe was covered in a hypodermic sterile covering. The colors of the fluids ranged, and there were many magnificent hues and shades.

"_No way!_" Sean exclaimed. "Is _that_ what I think it is?" he asked skeptically. Ryan looked up at him and nodded. A smirk appeared on Sean's face, and Collin soon understood as well, and a look of extreme enjoyment crossed his face as well. Ryan got up from his kneeled position.

"There is a different color for everyone." Ryan stated matter-of-factly.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Are those the '_Super Six Serums_?'" she asked, her tone vague, vast, and inquisitive.

Ryan nodded. "I have black. Sean is gold. Collin, you have orange. Lace, you're purple. Eric, you've got white. Sam, yours is green. …And Luce, yours is—" Ryan was cut off before he could finish.

"I know. I'm red." Lucy finished for him. She had a devious smirk on her face. Ryan chuckled at her expression.

They all reached down and took their own respective serums in their hands. There were still two untouched serums in the box; one was blue and another was silver.

"Alright then. These are to be used _only_ in an emergency. Things don't seem to be going to well, so in all actuality, we'll probably end up having to use them. But be _careful_, when and if you do. Remember, they'll only last for three hours, and they'll _severely_ drain your reserve stamina, strength, and speed. Don't overwork yourselves when you're powered up, _okay_?" Ryan issued his warnings, and his friends nodded in agreement.

"What about the other two?" Collin asked, gesturing to the two remaining serums.

Ryan picked up the two remaining serums. "Those two belong to Jake and Jenny. I'll take those, and I'll give them to them when I se—" Ryan started but was interrupted by Lucy.

"No. You can take Jenny's syringe, but _I'll_ take Jake's serum." Lucy said, commandingly. She held out her hand, gesturing for him to give her the serum.

Ryan smiled and nodded at her reaction. In Jenny's absence, _he _was the unspoken leader of _their _group; however, in Jake's absence, _Lucy _was the unspoken leader of _her _group. He admired her clear and commanding nature—her leadership.

He handed her Jake's serum, still smiling, without a single question. She gladly accepted it, and she closed her left had gently around it.

The "_Super Six_" Program was a program designed to develop super soldiers, for America and her allies. The program was named after the "_Super Six_" Gene that was responsible for giving the subjects of the program their special abilities.

Jimmy was commissioned by "_The Department of Defense_," to develop the serums and neurotoxins that would give the soldiers these special abilities. Jimmy used his old "_N-Men_" packets as a base for these serums. However, things went terribly wrong when Jimmy went on a diplomatic relations trip to Russia.

He was kidnapped by a group of Russian radicals. He was held hostage by the group of insurgents, and they demanded ransom, and the formula for the serums; however, he did not go without a fight. In all actuality, the terrorists had barely managed to capture him. Cindy was terribly shaken up by this, and she was torn between comforting her children and racing after her husband, in order to rescue him.

After Jimmy had refused to give up the serums, Jake, Jenny, and their friends developed a plan to use the serums that were already in their lab. The two geniuses ran tests and experiments to alter their genes, in order for their bodies to fully accept the serums, and then they administered the serums. Had they not altered their genes, their bodies would not have fully accepted the serum, and it would have killed them upon injection.

Each serum offered a power-up or body-boost—each in a very different way. Jake and Jenny planned to administer the serums to themselves, and themselves _alone_. They planned to rescue their father by themselves. However, after much cautioning, complaining, and coaxing—done by both The Department of Defense, who didn't think that they could do it alone, and by their friends, the two siblings allowed their friends' genes to be altered and the serums to be administered to them as well.

Each serum-and-gene combination gave the teens a different reaction, and each experienced a power-up in a _very_ different way. They had, in the end, and after much fighting and some intense violence, managed to rescue Jimmy. It was one of the very few adventures that both Jake _and _Jenny had taken their groups on.

Unfortunately, soon after the entire ordeal with Jimmy being held hostage, Jenny soon realized that the serums and their new abilities were draining their life force. She was forced to deactivate them and restore her friends' metabolisms to normal. Unbeknownst to her friends—except Lacey and Ryan of course—she had recreated the serums and had stored them in case of any emergency in the future.

Injecting the serums into the teens' bloodstreams would reactivate their abilities for a limited time of three hours. Needless to say, however, "_The Super Six Program" _was subsequently terminated and shutdown after this incident.

Lucy eyed the silver serum in her left hand. It was Jake's serum; she _hoped_ he would not have to use it. She hoped he was alright. She shifted her gaze from the serum in her left hand to the cell phone in her right hand. He still hadn't called. '_He should be home by now, shouldn't he?_' Lucy wondered.

"Now those are for _extreme_ _emergency _situations, _only_. _Understand_?" Ryan asked, eyeing every member of the group.

They all nodded in response and put the serums in their pockets. He bent down and removed the Styrofoam layer in the metal box—the layer the syringes had been lying on. Beneath the layer that had once held the serums, was a new layer of Styrofoam that housed, what appeared to be, multiple long-range weapons.

There were nine in total. They all appeared to be exact replicas of Jenny's plasmatic warp pistol; however, these handguns clearly could not "morph" into any other forms. They were all housed in semi-metallic holsters. These weapons were laying upon yet another piece of removable Styrofoam padding.

"Good. Now, while those serums are for more extreme situations, _these_," he said, motioning to the handguns, "are for _less_ extreme measures." Ryan finished, as a smirk crossed his face.

They all blinked a few times, apparently trying to process the new information.

"Man, that shit is _AWESOME!_" Sean yelled out.

The six other friends looked at him with a mixture of anger, annoyance, and amusement. He shrunk back into the group, _silently_. They all reached down and picked up their respective weapons. They all removed their weapons from their holsters and began inspecting them curiously.

"Hey man, where's the ammo at?" Collin asked, carefully scrutinizing his weapon.

In response to this, Ryan then held up nine pill-shaped objects. "Those are plasmatic warp pistols. They use the energy in the Earth's magnetic field and convert it into raw, unbridled, firepower. The energy is converted in plasma—_searing _hot, face-melting plasma." Ryan explained. He had a pretty good grasp on how most of Jenny's inventions worked.

"_Cool_…" Sam replied, a devious grin now spreading across her face.

"…_Easy_, Sam. Down girl." Lucy calmed down her ADHD friend, who now held a deadly weapon in her hand.

"So, they don't need ammo, then?" Eric questioned.

"In a matter of speaking, no they do not need _ammo_." Ryan replied to his question.

"…_But_…" Lacey urged him on, her eyes on him cautiously. She knew when Ryan was holding back information, and that is just what he was doing here.

"_But_, they _do_ require a battery to function." Ryan finished, holding up the nine pill-shaped objects. The six others nodded in response. They each took a pill-shaped battery, and Ryan then instructed them on how to properly load, unload, safety, and fire their weapons. They listened intently and followed his instructions carefully. Even Sam concentrated carefully and followed his directions, although it was a challenge for her to focus.

"**_Sweet_**_!_" Collin exclaimed. "So, how many rounds can one battery give us? …Or are they unlimited?" Collin asked.

"No. Unfortunately, there are _not_ unlimited. These batteries will last for approximately 45 rounds of continuous fire." Ryan explained. They all nodded in response.

"Now listen, I know this may all be a little overwhelming for some of you. I have absolutely _no_ idea what is going on. However, I do believe that we may be forced to make _very_ _difficult _decisions _very_ soon. Our first priority should be to stay alive. I know this might sound blunt, but quite frankly speaking, if we die, than there will be no one left save the world that we love. So, _all_ of you, be safe, be swift, be strong, and be smart. _Okay_?" Ryan addressed the group.

They all looked somewhat shocked at his speech, but they all soon regained their composure and nodded in response. They had understood and accepted what he had said. They all switched on the safety on their weapons, placed them back in their holsters, and clipped the holsters onto their belts or pants.

Lucy stared at the phone in her hand again, and a look of caution and concern crossed her face.

"He's _fine_; we've been through _plenty_ of worse situations." Sam said, comforting her friend with a smile and an arm around her shoulders.

Sam may have had a short attention span, be completely obsessed with an action figure, and be a little immature, but she was _great_ friend. She was _very _intuitive and in-tune with emotions, and she knew when something was bothering her friends. She acquired that trait that from her mother. Lucy smiled and nodded at her friend.

She began to flashback to the first time that she had ever met Jake.

* * *

><p>It was the first day that his family had moved into the neighborhood. Her mother, father, and brother had dragged Lucy along to welcome the new neighbors. The families all came out that day; <em>everybody's<em> family came out to greet them. It was a _very_ friendly neighborhood.

Her parents were across the street, talking to Mr. and Mrs. Neutron-Vortex, introducing themselves, and exchanging numbers, and she was quickly getting bored.

She remembered them introducing their oldest child, Jenny, to Ryan's parents. She then proceeded to violently and verbally voice her terrible opinions of Ryan, for apparently no reason at all. She had a _really bad_ temper. Lucy liked her immediately.

'_I wonder if they have any kids my age._' Lucy thought with a sigh, as she plopped herself down on the sidewalk.

Just then there was very loud explosion. Every able-bodied person available ran to source of the sound. Lucy looked up. She quickly got to her feet and began to follow the crowd.

The mob of people all arrived in the backyard of the new neighbors' house, to find an adorable and soot-covered seven-year-old boy lying in the grass of the backyard.

A moving box marked: "_DANGEROUS! Volatile Chemicals: DO NOT TOUCH!_" was lying in the grass beside him. It had a slight burn mark on it. Broken glass was around him, and a green liquid oozed across the lawn near the boy. It was pretty obvious what had happened.

The boy got up, still a little woozy, and he immediately noticed the beautiful dark-haired girl that was watching him curiously. His mother and father arrived beside him, and they began to pick him up and dust him off.

"Jake, are you _alright_?" his mother asked him frantically.

"Yeah, mom. I'm fine." Jake said dusting himself off.

"How many times have I told not carry dangerous chemicals all by yourself?" she asked, her tone of worry fading back to rage.

"...Um… …I dunno… …A bunch…" Jake said, smiling sheepishly, as he shrugged. His father chuckled at his son's reaction.

"Well, just look at that face. We can't punish something so innocent." Jimmy commented. Cindy just rolled her eyes. He was such a softie.

"If you need help carrying something, just _ask_, okay?" Cindy addressed her son.

He nodded. "Okay, mom." He walked away from his formerly flustered parents and approached the dark-haired girl, who was still watching him curiously. As he approached her, she tilted her head to one side, as if trying to decide something very important.

"…Um, hi." Jake said shyly, addressing the girl.

She looked at him with confusion and awe. She did not respond.

"…" Jake was worried that he might have upset her. "…Um, I'm Jacob, but my friends call me Jake. What's your name?" He asked, his worry at offending her deepening with every word.

"…" She still made no attempt at a response. A drop of sweat formed on his upper brow.

'_Do I have bad breath?_' he thought, knowing that he could not currently check if his breath was, in fact, "_bad_."

'_Why is she looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?_' Jake's mind raced. He was now _completely_ flustered and at a loss for words. '_Maybe this was a bad idea…_' he thought to himself.

"Maybe that explosion _should_ have killed me." he muttered to himself, not realizing that he had just verbally voiced the statement.

Lucy heard this, and her expression and demeanor immediately changed. She giggled at his remark. This was the first time that he had ever heard that giggle; it was the most attractive thing that he had ever heard.

'_Did she just make that sound?_' Jake asked himself, unsure of what to think.

"I'm Lucile, but my friends call me Lucy." the girl responded, extending her hand.

'_Her voice… …It's… …It's not human. …It's like an angel's voice. **What**? That makes absolutely no sense! What is WRONG with me?_' Jake thought to himself. He was at a loss for words, and he was unaware that his mouth was currently hanging open and agape.

A cute smile crossed the girl's face. She had him stunned speechless. The seven-year-old genius had no idea how to respond.

The smile on her face had made him even more nervous. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally noticed that her hand was outstretched. He nervously shook her hand and responded. His emerald eyes were locked on her amber ones. Her eyes pulled his own eyes in; they compelled him to stare at them, as if they had their own gravity.

"…N-Nice t-to meet you, Lu-Lucy." Jake stammered out.

She smiled even wider and replied, "Likewise, Jake. I'll see you around," she stated, and with that sincere statement, she turned and departed, leaving the emerald-eyed genius stunned and confused in her wake.

* * *

><p>Lucy smiled at the memory. She still held the phone tightly in her right hand. Sam smiled at her friend. "He'll call Luce." she stated comfortingly, still smiling.<p>

Lucy looked up at her friend. "He should be home by now, shouldn't he?" Lucy asked, worried. "Maybe I should just give him a quick—" Lucy's frantic reasoning was cut off by Sam's voice.

"Luce, put the phone _away_; he'll call." Sam replied, her smile wider than before.

Lucy nodded hesitantly, and she began to slowly put the phone into her jeans pocket. Just before her hand reached her pocket's entrance, however, the phone began vibrating violently. It was ringing. He had called. Lucy quickly answered the call and put the phone up to her ear.

She wanted desperately to call his name out, but she was beat to the punch.

"Lucy…?" Jake asked warily.

"Jake? What's wrong?" Lucy responded, looking more worried than before. The entire group stopped what they were doing and turned to face her. They listened in as best they could.

"Are you alright?" Jake asked, obviously worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Jake, what's going on?" Lucy asked intently.

"…I'm… …I'm not exactly _sure_, but I can tell it's bad. _Both_ of my parents are worried sick, and they called all of their friends over to the lab. _Something_ is out of the ordinary—and not in the good way—but I can't say—or even suggest—what it could be. My dad won't tell us what's wrong until Uncle Sheen and Uncle Carl get here." Jake answered her plea uneasily.

"…" Lucy didn't know how to respond.

"I'm just so happy to hear your voice." Jake responded honestly.

"Yeah Jake, me too." Lucy responded, emotion filling her voice.

"…Where are you guys right now?" Jake inquired.

"We're all still in the student parking lot outside the school." Lucy replied.

"_All_ of you?" Jake asked, his voice a clear mix between worry and confusion.

"Well, yeah. Eric and Sam are here right now, but their parents are coming to get them and take them to your house." Lucy responded.

"Oh, okay. Good." Jake replied solemnly.

"…Um, yeah, I guess so." Lucy said uneasily, not sure exactly how to respond.

"Listen, I want you guys to go home. I don't know what's going on, but I don't think that standing around and out in the open is the best idea." Jake requested.

"But Jake, we jus—" Lucy's reasons for staying were interrupted by her boyfriend's plea.

"Lucy, _please_!" Jake pleaded.

Lucy paused for a moment. This was serious; she couldn't deny him, not when he had that tone.

"Okay Jake." she said, giving into his request.

"Good. Stay safe Luce. I'll see you soon." he replied.

"Yeah, you too Jake. …And that '_be safe_' remark goes _double_ for you, _understand_?" Lucy responded seriously.

Jake chuckled slightly. "Yes, ma'am. I'll see you soon." Jake said, and with that, he ended the call.

She looked at the phone in her palm. She briefly eyed the device, before stuffing it into her pocket.

"Everything alright?" Eric asked. The entire group looked on in anticipation, as they awaited her response. Lucy addressed them all and nodded and smiled, half-heartedly.

"Jake said we should _all_ go home, _now_." Lucy said seriously. They all looked at her, somewhat confused.

"_AHEM!_" Ryan grabbed everyone's' attention. They all turned to face him. He was, once again, kneeling in front of the metal emergency kit that jenny had given him. "We'll worry about getting ourselves to safety and getting home in a little bit." Ryan stated, taking charge, once again.

The six friends looked at him in confusion, and Lucy raised an eyebrow at his sudden actions and at his attitude.

"We still have some matters to attend to." Ryan said, motioning to the emergency kit that was still lying on the ground beside him. Inside the open metal box still lay two untouched warp pistols, both still in their holsters.

"Let me guess: _those_," Sam said, pointing to the two remaining weapons, "are for Jake and Jenny."

"Yes." Ryan responded. "I'll take Jen's pistol, and Luce, you'll take Jake's weapon." he finished his response.

Lucy nodded. "I'll give it to him, along with his serum, when I see him." Lucy replied.

"No, _actually_, I think that we should _keep_ these weapons to ourselves." Ryan rebutted Lucy's logic. His friends that were gathered around him looked on curiously, wondering what he was seriously suggesting.

"…W-What are you talking about?" Lucy asked, somewhat stunned at his response to her statement.

"Jake and Jenny, _both_, have weapons of their own. Trust me, her lab is _filled_ with all kinds of things designed to kill people. They'll be alright with the whole weapon aspect. _However_, we have a limited supply of weapons and ammo, _so_…" Ryan trailed off, getting his general idea across.

"…_So_ we should use everything we've got at our disposal." Lacey finished his thought.

"Right." Ryan nodded in agreement. He bent down and grabbed the two remaining weapons. He clipped the weapon's holster to one the side of his jeans—the side that did not already have a weapon clipped to it.

He then tossed Lucy the other already pre-holstered weapon, and she caught it with expert reflexes. She clipped it to the side of her jeans. They both each had two handguns now. The other members of the group usually did not question when Ryan and Lucy took charge in times like this, but this time was somewhat different.

"Hey, how come you two get two warps, and everyone else has to settle for _minimal_ protection?" Sean inquired, his face contorted in an expression of accusation.

However, before Ryan or Lucy could defend their actions, Lacey spoke up, on their behalf. "Because, besides Jake and Jenny, they're the two smartest people here, and they know how to best use the weapons." Lacey defended Ryan and Lucy's actions. She turned and smiled at them. Lucy smiled in return, and Ryan nodded in agreement and thanks.

"…Oh, and _warps_?" Lacey questioned, turning to her boyfriend, and addressing Sean's _corny_ new term for the weapons.

"_What_? Warps sound cool. It's short for warp pistol." Sean defended himself. Lacey raised an eyebrow at him.

"…_Now_, on to the next matter at hand." Ryan continued. His friends turned away from the bickering couple—which was more like an angry Lacey and a whimpering Sean—and back to Ryan's speech.

Ryan removed the entirely empty layer of Styrofoam padding upon which the warp pistols had been lying, and underneath it were some new objects. These new objects seemed to be nine separate belts, and each of the belts were completely wound up around their buckle.

"_More_ gadgets?" Lacey asked in awe. "How many things did Jen put in that case?" she asked curiously.

"This is the last layer of the emergency stuff." Ryan responded. Lacey nodded in understanding.

"What are _those_?" Sam asked, pointing at the nine belt-like objects.

"'_Force-Field Generators_.'" Ryan responded.

"…And, um, how exactly do they work?" she replied, still confused.

Before Ryan could respond, a large aircraft—one that did _not_ look human—zoomed by overhead, with incredible speed. The aircraft was as large as a small bus, and it was shining silver and jet black. The group of seven friends looked up at it in awe. Their mouths were slightly agape.

"Uh oh…" Eric commented.

"…W-What was _that_?" Lacey asked, pointing at the spot where the aircraft had just flown by.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it didn't look friendly." Lucy responded to her question.

"Ryan, why don't you tell us how those generators work, _quickly_." Lucy suggested, her instincts and quick thinking matched only by Ryan's quick actions.

He acted just as fast as Lucy thought. They made a good team, hence the reason for Ryan and Lucy _always_ being running-mates a track meets. She was fast, but he was faster—even if only by a little bit.

Ryan saw the aircraft take a sharp u-turn and readjust its direction. It was now headed directly for them. There was a fairly large weapon, unfamiliar and apparently alien, mounted on its direct front. The weapon began to charge with an eerie blue glow. The large and gruesome gun was aimed right at the seven teenagers. The aircraft began to descend, its gun's glowing blue beam getting brighter all the time. Its target was clearly outlined.

"Hey, Luce, I've got a better idea. How about, instead, I _show_ you guys how to use these bad boys." Ryan responded, and before she could reply, he sprang into action.

Without a second thought, Ryan grabbed one of the belt-shaped "_Force-Field Generators_." He quickly unwrapped the wound-up device and put it on, as if it were just a normal belt.

He secured the device around his waist, using the belt-buckle located on its front face. The entire time that he was acquiring and adjusting the belt, he was running—quite quickly—towards the apparently enemy ship, and a look of determination, fearlessness, and fierceness was paltered on his face.

He neared the ship, and as he did so, he pressed a small button on the buckle of the belt-generator. The buckle of the belt-shaped device dispensed a small orb-looking device into Ryan's hand. Ryan clicked a switch on the small grenade-shaped object in his hand, and it began to glow black.

Just as the enemy ship came down on him, its main gun fired. The air around the shot erupted in electrified heat and fury, and the blue energy blast consumed all it touched, racing towards its target, racing towards Ryan.

Ryan threw the grenade-looking device at the energy blast, and right before the blast made contact with the device, the small orb expanded into an engulfing, circular, black energy shield, and the blast made contact with it, instead of impacting Ryan or his friends. The large and furiously fatal energy blast impacted with the shield and rebounded, now heading in an entirely new direction.

The blast was now heading directly for the ship that had fired it. It was impossible for the vessel to avoid the collision. The huge ball of fire collided with alien vessel, and an expected and enormous explosion was heard from all corners of the property that they stood on.

The collision sent sparks, shrapnel, and scorching fire hurtling in every direction. The seven friends hit the floor as debris flew in every possible direction. They had all, somehow, miraculously, managed to avoid injury. They all stood up, and as they slowly came to their feet and regained their composure, they looked around their once-familiar school's student parking lot.

The entire area was engulfed in flames and covered in burnt and melted metal, and the source of the destruction lay in the lower left corner of the parking lot. The large heap of smoking alien metal lay there, smoking, singing, and smoldering, not moving an inch.

Thankfully, as far as the teens could see, neither Ryan's bike, Sean's car, nor Jake's hover-bike were damaged in the resulting explosion. These three vehicles were the teens' only transportation out of the area.

"Is everyone _okay?_" Ryan yelled out. He got six positive yells and shouts in response. The group of seven friends came together, once again, forming a circle around the metal emergency kit on the ground.

"…And _that's_ how you use the generators." Ryan said, looking up at the sky where the large black energy shield was still visible, floating flawlessly in midair. The others in the group followed his gaze, and they looked at the shield in awe and amazement.

They quickly shook off their stupor and looked down at the metal box on the ground, which still contained eight belt-shaped force-field generators. They each bent down and took the belt that, on its buckle, had their designated color—the color that matched the color of their serums—and they each secured their belts around their waists.

"Each belt will dispense a maximum of _five_ energy orbs. Each energy orb will create an energy shield that will stay active for a maximum of _ten_ minutes. Each shield will deflect, or _reflect_—as you have just seen—any projectile that comes toward it." Ryan explained.

They all nodded in response. Just as they finished securing their belt-generators, more of the alien aircrafts blazed by, overhead. Lucy looked up and eyed them with disdain and heated hatred.

She reached her hand in her pocket and grabbed her serum. Ryan saw what she was doing, however, and stopped her. Before she could pull her hand from her pocket—which had already grabbed her serum—Ryan's hand grabbed her wrist.

"**_Ryan_**_!_" Lucy boomed.

"I'm sorry Lucy, but you should really save that." Ryan offered. She eyed him seriously.

"_This_," she said, motioning to the ruined parking lot around her, "looks a hell of a lot like an _EMERGENCY_ to me!" she retorted.

Ryan released her hand and responded to her, his voice now serious and somber.

"Maybe so, Luce, but this is just _beginning_, and I'm _sure _of that." he started solemnly.

"…And _those_," he said gesturing to her hand which was still in her pocket and still wrapped around her serum, "will only last for a few hours. We'll need all the help we can get, and we need to save and conserve all of our resources. Those will _only _be used as our _last_ resort, Luce." Ryan finished, explaining his actions.

Lucy scowled at him, still apparently angry, but she saw his reasoning, as she gently removed her hand from her pocket. She may not be able to use her serum now, but she was _sure_ that she would use it by the end of the day. The children stared at the sky, wondering who their new unknown enemies were.

**A/N: Well… ...THAT was interesting. I wonder who those guys were. Man, Jenny is certainly prepared for ALL kinds of situations, isn't she? I wonder what kind of powers the kids will get when they re-activate their "_Super Six" Gene_? There is only one way to answer all of these questions: stay tuned for the next update. I hope you guys enjoyed the little tid-bits about the kids' past and their past adventures. R&R!**


	5. The Welcoming Party

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron, or anything affiliated with said franchise (Unfortunately). I also do not own Chrysler, Ford, Audi, Bentley, Nissan, Mercedes`, or ANY other car make or model. I give complete credit to them, when and IF, I use their vehicles.**

**Author Announcement(s): I apologize for the wait for an update (*SIGH,* AGAIN). I am, and will continue to try, to get them out as quickly as possible. However, please do NOT worry about me cancelling this story, because, as long as I have GREAT readers, such as yourselves, it will continue, all the way to the end. Anyways, back to THIS story… …Let me just say, that this story hasn't even started yet. Chapters 1-16, (approximately, because I haven't quite worked out the exact number of chapters) will be ONLY THE INTRODUCTION to this story, and it will be meant to introduce the reader to my OCs and get them acquainted. After chapter 16 (or, because the numbers of 16 chapters is NOT definite, whatever chapter happens to end part I), part II will begin. Part II is where the main plot, storyline, and characters that you all know and love will appear. There is a DEFINITIVE event that happens at the end of "_Part I_," that will END "_Part I_," and this event should be clear to everyone when they read it. "_Part II_" will be longer than "_Part I_"; however, "_Part III_" will be the longest. Also, there is a "_Part IV_" tentatively scheduled for posting. I told you that this would be a LONG (and hopefully ENJOYABLE, as well) story. Believe me, this story will get the familiar feel of an episode of "_Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius_," as it goes on and progresses. The main plot is FILLED with ACTION (and some other stuff, including romance and comedy), as you have probably already inferred. …Anyways enough of that (my future "_Author Announcements_," and/or A/Ns will be substantially SHORTER), here is Chap. 5; ENJOY!**

**V. The Welcoming Party**

He looked worried. He scanned around the road in front of him; he did not want to miss anything. He wanted to remain as alert as possible.

Carl sat in the driver's seat of his car, traveling towards his good friend's house. He looked to his left, eying his wife ever-so-carefully. She was a tall, middle-aged woman, with dark-brunette; her hair was almost as dark as night itself, but was still boldly brown. Her bright brown eyes looked worried and confused.

Her look of obvious panic was not without good reason, however. She had told him that Cindy sounded worried over the phone, and Cindy _never_ sounded worried. Something was _wrong_.

Carl glanced in his rear-view mirror and got a quick glance at his children before returning his attention to the road. They were strapped into their car seats and buckled and bound tightly in the back seat of the car. His children looked confused and confounded, but not worried—never worried.

They were too carefree, too innocent, too hopeful, to believe that something was wrong, especially something that could not be fixed. They were adorable. Emily and Aaron Wheezer were fraternal twins.

Emily had fire-red hair, and the most enamored and enchanting auburn eyes. She currently hugged her favorite stuffed llama toy very close to her chest. Aaron had dark brunette hair, cropped short with dark eyes, a perfect mix between his mother's eyes and his father's eyes. They were both the age of six years. They were both looking down at the floor of the vehicle, sparsely sporadically wondering what was happening.

Carl actually often thought his children were behind his friends' offspring, because Sheen and Jimmy's children were much older than his own. He often blamed himself for not being more "attractive" and finding wife sooner than he did and giving his children and friend's children more of a chance to grow up together.

However, although he felt this way, he was actually younger than most fathers with children his age. Carl, his wife, Jimmy, Cindy, and Libby were all thirty-seven years old. They were all the same age, except of course, for Sheen.

Sheen was the only exception to his friends' evenly equal age. He was a year older than them all. The reason for Sheen's odd age was probably due to the fact that he was held back in fourth grade. Carl had given his children plenty of time to grow up and know their father as a younger-than-average father. However, the fact that Sheen and Jimmy, both, had had their children so early sometimes made Carl feel late, inert, and inadequate.

Jimmy and Sheen both seemed to want to start a family, fast and fresh out of college. Carl sometimes wished he had met his true love in college, but he would only want that girl to be _her_; it would have to be Resa.

He would _never_ trade what he had with Resa for anything, even a chance at a lovely life where his children would be older and be able to grow up with Jenny, Jake, Eric, and Sam.

He had met Teresa Daniels on an expedition in Spain, for a "_Save The Llamas_" fundraiser and attention-and-awareness event. It was sponsored and financed by the environmental group that Carl worked for. He was thankful, at that exact moment in time, that he wasn't as bulgy, blubbery, or generally big as he once was.

Since his childhood days, Carl had lost a substantial amount of his body fat, and whatever weight remained was soon after converted, from fat into muscle—_most_ of it anyways. He would never have been able to stick to his workout regimen though, had it not been for Jimmy and Sheen working-our, progressing, and pushing him through it. That workout regimen that the three friends had used so familiarly and frequently was probably a major contributor to the surprising fact that Jimmy, himself, had become so physically fit.

Carl saw Teresa, and, immediately, he was lost in her brown eyes. At this paragon point in time, he still had some noticeable baby fat, but somehow, it looked somewhat actually attractive on him. Even thought this was the case, he became a puddle when he saw her, and he lost his nerve, his confidence, and his train of thought. She noticed this sweet and shy man looking at her, and she smiled at him. The rest was history.

Resa caught his glance in the mirror and turned to face him. Her dark brunette hair was usually tied and twisted in her usual bun or ponytail, but today she was in a hurry and she had not had time to fix her hair.

The motion of her sleek brown hair caused caught his attention. He noticed her motion and briefly averted his eyes from the road to face her. Even though she was clearly worried and upset, she managed to smile half-heartedly at him. He returned the gesture.

"They're fine." she said, reassuringly. Carl nodded in response. He turned his attention back to road. She was right. They were fine, but something was _not_. Something was _wrong_, and they both knew it. Regardless of whatever was going on, they needed to keep their expressions, emotions, and demeanor calm—for their children.

Carl looked ahead, scanning the road, wondering what could possibly have _both_ Cindy _and_ Jimmy so worried. Resa had only known Carl's group of childhood friends for a short while, but she knew their personalities fairly and familiarly well by this point.

She liked them all, and she was liked equally as much by them in return. Even she knew how unusual it was for Jimmy and Cindy to worry this much. She turned around and offered a quick glance at her children. They both looked up from the floor that they were starring at and looked their mother in the eye. She smiled and they returned the gesture. Resa turned back around in her chair and returned her gaze to her previous target. Her intense stare alternated between the road and her obviously worried husband.

"Daddy, what's wrong?" Emily's sweet and sincere voice broke the silence. She eyed her father in the rear-view mirror as she waited for a response to her question.

Carl looked in the mirror and directly into his daughter's enamored eyes as he answered her with genuine affection and sincerity.

"Nothing sweetheart. Everything is alright. Everything is going to be just fine. We're just going Uncle Jimmy's to spend some quality time." Carl replied to his daughter's question, smiling.

Emily responded to her father's statement by smiling half-heartedly and nodding. She returned her gaze to the floor. Although she appreciated and accepted her father's sincerity, she still had a feeling that something was wrong.

She was very intuitive for a six-year-old; she got that from her mother. Her brother simply watched the entire exchange between his sister and his father. After the conversation was finished, he continued to look at the floor, still slightly confused.

Carl looked up at the sky as he drove, and what he saw next stunned and silenced him completely. The large group of silver-and-black alien ships raced by overhead, their intent: to _destroy_, to _kill_.

* * *

><p>Lucy looked around the ruined parking lot. She clenched and unclenched her fists constantly. They had attacked them—whoever <em>they <em>were. They had attacked them for no specific reason, other than the fact that they were _human_.

Lucy knew this and she was instantly disgusted by the possibility that, all over the planet, innocent people—adults and children alike—were dying. She already hated her knew enemies. However, she hated herself more for not being able to stop it from happening, to stop the inevitable battles and bloodshed from occurring.

She was tired of being a helpless little girl. She had been in dangerous situations before, and she had even saved her friends on a few occasions, but _this _was different. She was not going to be helpless; she was sure of that.

She made a conscious decision: she was going to make them regret coming here, coming to _Earth_. The rage that she felt finally registered in her mind, and she was surprised at just how angry she actually was. This was a different side of her. She wanted nothing more than to mix her blood with that serum in her pocket and return the favor that these monsters had bestowed upon her Earth. She thought of what could be happening at her home, of what might be happening to her parents, of what be happening to Jake.

She was lost drowning in darkness, in depression. She quickly snapped out of it, however. She swiftly returned to her former feeling of intense anger and animosity. She was angry at those _monsters_ for what they were doing, but mostly, she was angry at _herself_ for not seeing it coming and being helpless to stop it.

She shoved hand in her pocket, and she instantly made contact with the sterile needle housed therein. She just wanted to feel it, to touch it, to make sure it was still there. It gave her some solace, at least.

The seven friends were still gathered around the almost empty emergency supply kit. All that remained in the final and bare bottom-most layer of the kit were two force-field generators. They were the generators that belonged to Jake and Jenny. Everyone eyed them, each with different emotion and expression clearly displayed on their faces.

The belt buckles of these devices were the recognizable colors of the two geniuses' serums. Jenny's belt buckle was blue, and her brother's generator was silver.

No one spoke. No one seemed to want to speak. They were no longer in shock—no, their shock had long since worn off—they were now processing what had just happened. Ryan and Lucy, naturally, were the two who first finished processing the new information, and as such, were the first two to speak.

"What about their generators?" Lucy questioned Ryan, who had by this point, made clear his role as the leader. Even though this was true, Lucy—not him—was the first to speak. If he was, in fact, in command and control now, then she was an even equal of his. She was not a follower.

"We… …We should keep them to ourselves." Ryan stated solemnly, seeming to be very slow in deciding what to do. His gaze remained glued to the emergency kit as he spoke. He did not look at Lucy as he addressed her.

Lucy raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him, a curious expression on her face. "Jake and Jenny have some in the lab?" she questioned, her concern for her boyfriend's safety quite apparent.

"I am almost positive. Knowing her, she probably has the upgraded version of it in her lab—'_version 2.0_.'" Ryan replied, still not making eye contact with her, as he continued to stare at the bare metal box on the ground.

Lucy nodded in response. She bent down and picked one of the generators up, the silver one.

Ryan stopped staring at the emergency kit on the ground, and he now looked directly at her. Before she could put the generator on herself, he spoke.

"Luce, you and I both already have two weapons each. It would unfair to everyone else if we also had two generators as well. We should give them to some else—make it kind of even, 'ya know?" Ryan requested, using _very_ uncharacteristic improper and incorrect grammar.

He _never _used improper grammar; this meant only one thing: he was not himself. Lucy nodded in response.

"Who should we give them to?" Lucy questioned, still holding the silver generator in her hand.

Ryan looked up and carefully inspected each member of the group, as of trying to make a very important decision. He picked the remaining blue belt-shaped device and walked over to Sam.

"It would only be right that Sam, being the youngest, gets the most protection." he said, offering her the belt with as warm a smile as he could muster. She tried to return the smile, but the current circumstances of the situation made that difficult for her.

She accepted the belt a little reluctantly. Even though she knew that Ryan was right and he made sense, she _hated _being treated like a child or being singled out for being the youngest in the group. Sam secured the second belt around her waist, directly above her first force-field generator—her viper green one—that was already located there.

"…And the second one?" Collin asked.

Ryan looked around. "…_Well_, since Sean did complain about not having enough protection…" Ryan trailed off, as Lucy approached Sean and handed him the belt in her hand.

There was an expression of enjoyment and mockery on her face. Sean accepted the device from her, his face going slightly red at the fact that his immature and baby-like comment had come back to bite him.

He secured the belt around his waist, above his already donned gold-colored belt generator. Everyone chuckled slightly at the comedy of the moment. Ryan had successfully eased their tensions and lightened the mood.

Ryan now made an abrupt movement, as his entire body turned so he looked at the burning, molten, and melted scrap of alien metal in the corner of the parking lot. Everyone else's gaze soon followed his own stare.

His eyes narrowed. He began to slowly approach it. The others followed close behind, cautiously. He reached the vessel. He slowly and deliberately walked around it. After making two trips around the vehicle, he stopped.

The others watched him carefully. He walked up to what appeared to be a small door. The door appeared to seared shut, a result of the intense heat and melting of the metal from the explosion. He un-holstered one of his warp pistols, clicked the safety off, and he took aim at the corner of the door. He fired twice. The weapon emitted two fast-traveling raging red-colored, searing-hot plasma bursts. The weapon was bright and swift, but silent.

The two plasma bolts made contact with the door and singed away the burn marks that held the door in place. The door creaked, as it gave way to building pressure. The door came of its melted hinges and fell to ground, loudly. Ryan approached, carefully and weapon at the ready.

He peered in through the opening, and what he saw did not surprise him in the least. The interior of the alien craft was very amazingly advanced. It housed a number of panels and viewports; there was more room than he expected inside the ship.

There were two beings, both dead, lying lifeless on the floor of the vehicle. They each had two legs, two arms, and a head. They were both dressed in some sort of metallic, strong and sturdy-looking, full-body armor. Their armor was jet black with some silver streaks. It was uniformed, and it looked as if the two beings wore the exact same armor.

Their faces were concealed by a pitch-black visor in the front of the helmets that was attached to their armor. There were multiple cracks in their visor screens, but the visors—which apparently were made of some sort of glass-like material—were still somehow intact.

There were slits, cuts, and burn marks all over their armor. From some of the slits or cuts in the metallic armor oozed some sort of dark-violet liquid. There was not a large amount of this liquid, but there was enough to be noticed. Ryan made his assumption that this fluid was their new enemies' life force: their _blood_.

Ryan backed away and holstered his weapon, satisfied with what he had witnessed. The six others, each in turn, took their respective chances to witness what Ryan had just seen. They all reacted in their own way.

Lucy was angry, but she was somewhat calm and collected at seeing some of her new enemies lying lifeless like that. Most of the others felt that they got what they deserved. Sam, however, was a little disheartened by the chaos and carnage.

Sam had quite the appreciation for violence; however, when it involved her friends, her family, and her loved ones, it was different. She suddenly felt the reality of the situation crash down around her. Eric and Lucy both wrapped an arm around her shoulder and supported her as the three friends walked away from the burning ship.

Ryan looked to the sky, as more of the enemy alien ships passed by overhead. He then observed his black energy shield, still floating flawlessly in midair. After a few moments, the shield vanished, as if it had never existed. The others took note of this. If the shield had deactivated, then _at most_, ten minutes had passed since Ryan had activated it. The seven friends now came within a close distance of the now-empty emergency kit.

Before they could gather in their usual circle around the kit, however, a car—one that was traveling at ridiculous speeds for a school-zone—entered the school's parking lot. The car slowed to a screeching halt some distance in front of the seven children.

The dark red "_Chrysler 300_" was a familiar sight to Sam and Eric, and they smiled at the car's chaotic entrance. The two doors of the driver and passenger side flung open, and a worried Sheen and Libby ejected themselves from the car, running full speed, towards their waiting children.

Libby grabbed her son and daughter in a crushing and entangling embrace, and Sheen soon joined the group hug. His dark brown hair sleek and spiked back hung on top of a face that was clearly worried. Libby's beautiful dark hair was matched only by the darkness of her emotions. She desperately hugged and kissed her children, and Sheen repeated a similar action.

The four members of the family that were involved group hug released each other, and the worry on their faces gave way to expressions of relief and affection. They stood there, still, silent and observant for a while, until Libby broke the silence.

"Are you two alright?" she asked, addressing her children, still a little worried. "…And just what the hell happened here?" she added to her queries, as she finally noticed the state of the parking lot around her and the wrecked alien craft in the corner of the property.

"…Um, it's kind of a long story…" Sam trailed off, looking down. She sounded a little surreal.

"Sam, are you _alright_?" Sheen asked his daughter, rushing over to her. He cupped her face in his hands and carefully examined her frail face. He had detected the timid tone in his daughter's voice.

Sam responded by simply pointing to the location of the crashed alien ship. Sheen turned his head in the direction that his daughter was pointing. He had finally noticed the crashed hunk of metal.

"…_WHOA_! …It looks like '_Ultra-Lord, Episode 456: Attack of The Alien Marauders, From Planet Avalon_!'" Sheen exclaimed.

Sam smiled at her father's dorky, excited, and expected comment. She was used to these comments from him and this solid sense of normality made her feel somewhat happy.

"_Actually_ dad, it's more like '_Ultra-Lord, Episode: 327: Invasion of the Eviscerators_.'" Sam corrected her father.

Sheen smiled and chuckled at his daughter's reply. "…Haha, I guess you're right sweetie." Sheen admitted his mistake. Libby rolled her eyes at her husband and her daughter's obsession with the show. Eric lowered his head and shook it. At least _something_ was normal.

"…_Seriously_, though, what happened here?" Libby questioned, now addressing all seven of the children that were standing there.

Ryan opened his mouth to respond, but before he could utter any words out, Lucy spoke. "Aliens." she stated, not a hint of human emotion in her vicious voice.

"_What_?" Sheen and Libby responded in unison.

"They emerged. They engaged. They were ended." Lucy responded, a hint of rage and violence seeping into her vehement voice.

Libby and Sheen looked at each other and raised an eyebrow. They both knew all seven of these children since they were little, and neither of them had ever seen Lucy so brutal before. She was their daughter's best friend, and she was always so _cheery. _They returned their gaze to the children before them.

"What about you guys? Are you alright?" Sheen questioned.

"Yes sir, Mr. Estevez. We are all fine. No one has any injuries. …_Well_ any _physical_ injuries anyway." Ryan replied, looking uneasily at Sam as he said the last part.

Sheen caught his glace and turned to face his daughter. Sheen ignored Ryan's _unusual_ formality. He had known the kid since he was little, like he had with most of the friends, and Ryan had never _once_ called him _sir_. This was serious, and Sheen quickly realized that.

"Sam, you sure _okay_?" Sheen asked his daughter, obviously worried about her.

"Yeah dad. I'm just… …Just—" Sam was cut off by her mother, who had trapped in a loving hug.

"It's okay honey. Believe me, those _things_ got what they deserved. The world is better without them." she assured her daughter, releasing her from the hug.

"…I know that mom. I'm not worried about _them_. I'm actually kind of happy that they got what they deserved. …It's just knowing that this could happen to everyone that I know is-is… …It's—" Sam broke off, a single tear escaping her left eye. Her father bent down and wiped the tear from her eye.

"Look Sam. We're fine. We are _all_ fine. And it is going to stay that way, okay?" Sheen addressed his daughter. She nodded and smiled in response.

Eric approached his sister and wrapped an arm around her. "Listen Sam _nothing_ is going to happen to anyone, okay? We are _way_ too prepared for this for that to happen." Sam nodded and hugged him back.

"So, um, how _exactly_ did you guys stop that ship?" Sheen asked the group curiously.

This time, Ryan had the drop on Lucy, and he responded before she could even open her mouth. "Jenny gave me an emergency kit with a lot of supplies and few weapons in it. We used them to bring the ship down." Ryan replied.

Sheen nodded and Libby cracked a small smile. "Ha, always prepared for _anything_, just like her father, isn't she?" Libby asked, chuckling slightly at Jenny's striking similarities to her father.

Sheen laughed. "Man, those aliens better not piss off _that_ family, or they'll have a _serious_ problem on their hands." Sheen joked. Although he was being funny, he was right. The Neutron-Vortex Family was a family that people that did _not_ challenge clearly—unless they had a death wish.

"Man, you got _that_ right." Sean responded, joining in the laughter. Everyone exchanged a small giggle, except for Lucy and Ryan, who were both still very somber and serious. After a short burst of enjoyment, the group returned to their normal expressions and their manner of seriousness, strategy, and sadness returned.

"So, what do we do _now_?" Sam asked her mother, wanting her to take some control over this situation that was quickly spiraling steeply downhill.

"…_Well_, Your father and I were thinking of taking you two with us. …That is, unless, you would feel safer here, with your friends." Libby replied.

"_No!_" the two Estevez siblings yelled in response.

"Please take us to Uncle Jimmy's house. This day has been crazy enough. Those _things_," Sam said referring to the alien ships, "are _everywhere_, but at least we'll be safe at Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Cindy's house." she finished.

"**_Ahem_**_!_" Ryan and Lucy responded, in unison, to the two siblings' remark.

"What, so you wouldn't be safe here, with us?" they finished, obviously insulted at the implication of the two siblings' comments. They felt that they were perfectly capable of protecting their friends and keeping them safe, and Sam's clear and concise comment seemed to have really hurt them.

"…Um, no… …_Well_… …That's not _exactly_ what I meant." Sam replied, a little light-heartedly. She had not meant to hurt her friends' feelings at all.

"**_Well_**? What did you mean then?" Lucy responded, a little more irate than usual.

Sam shrunk back at the sound of her angry best friend.

"I-I-I… …I only meant that we would be saf_er_ with them. I didn't mean that you couldn't keep us safe; I _know_ that you guys are good at that. I-I… …I just don't want to stay _here_, out in the open. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings Luce, honest I didn't." Sam chocked out, on the verge of tears.

Lucy heard the genuineness in her friend's voice, and she immediately rushed over to her and trapped her in an embrace. "I know, Sam, I know. I'm sorry. I'm just really on edge. You and Eric should go with your parents. We'll handle everything here for a while." Lucy adamantly apologized to her friend, who was already in a bad mental state.

Sam's voice straightened and she regained what was left of her composure. She was not supposed to be this weak. This was not her. This was someone else, and she hated herself for turning so soft. She knew that this was a difficult situation, and they needed _everyone_ to be all assembled, put-together, and mentally stable.

"_No!_ I'll stay here. You guys need me! What if you guys end up using the serums? You'll need my ability too!" Sam reasoned.

Lucy knew that she was right, but right now, Sam needed her parents, and she knew that. "Sam, you're absolutely right, but I think that you and Eric should go anyways." she replied to her clearly concerned friend.

"But… …But—" Sam was cut off by Lucy's adamant command.

"Sam, _go_! We'll be _fine_; we can take care of ourselves." Lucy responded. Sam knew she was right, and she nodded in response.

"Alright then. You guys stay safe; we'll see you soon." Eric addressed his friends. They all nodded in response.

The parking lot had cooled and calmed down substantially, and the flames that had engulfed it moments before had died down. Only the smoke remained. This wonderfully welcome fact made it much easier to cross the parking lot without any chance of injury.

The Estevez family, after a few hard-pressed and chocked-out goodbyes, finally began to walk back to their car that was located on the far side of the parking lot.

However, before the family of four had finally reached their destination, one of the alien ships that they had all come to despise, appeared and hovered in the air—directly between them and their target. It hovered directly between the group of eleven and the exit to the parking lot.

This ship had the same color-scheme and design as the others; however, it was significantly larger than its smaller cousins. _A lot _more than two people could fit on this one. Blue beams, many of them, began to shine down from the ship and the beams—blazing bright blue—eventually reached the ground. There were over ten beams, and within each beam of blue light suddenly appeared one or more armed and armored alien troops.

They all wore the armor that the two dead alien pilots—the ones that children had previously seen—were wearing earlier. They all had some sort of long-range weapon, and each weapon required two hands to properly handle it.

They—both the aliens and the teenagers—all took a moment get their bearings. The alien ship quickly sped away, disappearing into the distance. Ryan Lucy quickly and quietly thought to themselves, and the same thought passed through both of their brains: '_Terrible timing_.'

The two groups of enemies stood there, waiting for the other to make a move. After not even a complete second had passed, both the humans and the aliens drew their weapons and took aim at each other.

* * *

><p>Carl and Resa, both, could not believe their eyes. Those ships had passed by only moments before, and they were both still in shock. Carl still continued his monotonous and mundane action of driving, but his mind was not focused; he was worried, <em>very <em>worried, about both his wife and his children.

His own safety came last. His mind raced and reeled. '_What on Earth is going on?_' Carl thought to himself. He did not want to voice his concerns, for the sake of his children. However, they seemed to sense this and so they showed it.

"Daddy, mommy? What was that thing?" Emily asked. She was curious, though still not worried.

"Nothing sweetie. It was just an airplane." Resa tried to comfort daughter by avoiding the truth. However, Emily seemed to see through her mother's lie.

"…_All _of them were airplanes, mommy?" she responded to her mother's anxious answer.

Resa felt uneasy. She had no idea what to tell her daughter. '_No, of course not, honey. We're just under attack by a probably very hostile alien race._' Resa thought of how the explanation would sound and she felt somewhat nauseated at the truth of her own thoughts.

"…_Mommy_?" Emily broke the short silence. Aaron looked up from the floor and looked around the car. He had seen the "airplanes" as well, but he really didn't want to know what they were, not because he didn't care what they might be, but because he was _afraid_ of what they might be. He looked on in anticipation as he awaited his mother's response to his sister's question.

Resa turned around and looked at her children. She smiled at them, and the warmth, genuineness and apt affection on her face calmed them down significantly. Aaron felt less agitated and he began to settle down a little. "Don't worry about it sweetheart. Everything is _alright_." Resa lied. Her daughter, however, did not seem to notice this, and Emily accepted her mother's declaration that all was well.

Emily smiled and nodded. "Okay mommy." she replied to her mother. Aaron, however, did not seem so convinced.

"Mom, what did Aunt Cindy say over the phone?" Aaron questioned his mother.

Resa was surprised by son's sudden question. "Nothing honey. She just invited us over for dinner."

Aaron raised an eyebrow at his mother, but he left the current topic-at-hand alone. He did not respond. Resa was happy for this. She turned back around and her view came back to the road.

"Resa, would you please call Cindy back?" Carl asked his wife without taking his eyes from the road.

Resa looked at him, somewhat stunned for a moment. She quickly shook off her stupor and responded to her husband's request. "…Um, _why_, exactly, might I ask?" she returned.

"Just to let them know what's going on." Carl replied somberly.

"Okay, and just what exactly should I tell her?" Resa responded, getting her cell phone out of her purse that was currently on the floor in front of her.

"Just tell her that we might have a… …A '_situation_,' and tell her _exactly_ what you just saw fly by overhead." he responded.

Resa nodded in response. "Okay…"

"…Oh, and call her cell phone, not the home phone, in case she's in the lab." he added.

"I know Carl; I'm not stupid!" Resa replied, surprisingly agitated and annoyed. Her children jumped at her sudden increase in volume.

They looked up at her, and even Carl averted his stare from the road, and briefly eyed his wife. She turned and looked around the car and saw the slightly confused and shocked faces around her. "I'm sorry, sweethearts," she said, addressing both her children, "I didn't mean to get so loud; it's just that I'm so tired." she smiled at her children, and they smiled back, apparently accepting her apology.

Carl still had one eye on her. She turned and faced him, an apologetic expression on her face. She smiled half-heartedly and addressed him.

"Sorry." she whispered. He nodded. He knew that she was on-edge; they both were. He silently accepted her apology. Resa whipped out her phone and began to press some keys on the small device.

She held it up to hear ears and waited patiently, as the phone on the other end began to ring. Finally the ringing stopped, and the person she was trying to contact answered the phone.

"Hello?" Cindy answered her phone.

"Hey Cin, it's Resa." she replied.

"Oh, hey Rese, what's going on? Are you guys on your way already?" Cindy responded.

"…Um, yeah, we're on our way…" Resa spoke uneasily, and Cindy sensed this.

"Rese, what's wrong? You sound worried. Are you guys _okay_?" she asked her friend, obviously concerned.

"…Um, yeah we're '_okay_,' but something—something _strange_—just happened." Resa responded.

Cindy raised an eyebrow, although Resa could not see this action. "Resa, what's going on?" Cindy asked her friend.

"We… …Ah… …We kind of just saw…" Resa trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

"Rese, _what_ did you see?" Cindy asked her friend with uncharacteristic and appreciated compassion.

"We saw… …We saw… …Ah… …We saw a-a group of _enemy_ ships." Resa responded, emphasizing the word _enemy_.

"_What_? What do you mean _enemy_ ships? …And _where_, exactly, did you see these ships?" Cindy interrogated her friend.

"…" Resa did not respond. She _could _not respond. She was at a loss for words.

"Rese?" Cindy tried to get a response.

Resa finally responded, and this time, she seemed ready to tell the whole story. "About a few minutes ago, we saw a group of ships—ships that did _not_ look human, mind you—pass by overhead, and they were swarming, as if they were heading to a specific target. And, Cindy… …They looked _hostile_. We are _fine_, though, so don't worry about us. We are currently on our way to your house. We are about seventeen miles away right now." Resa explained the situation as best she could.

"…" Now it seemed like Cindy was the one who was at a loss for words.

"_Cindy_?" Resa addressed her friend, trying to get her to speak.

"…Rese, listen, I'm going to put you on with Jimmy, _okay_?" Cindy replied.

"…Um, okay." Resa responded uneasily.

"…And, listen, I want you to tell him _exactly_ what you just told me, okay?" Cindy sounded somber now. This was _serious_.

Resa nodded in response, and for a second, she forgot that Cindy could not see her perform this action. "…"

"…Um, Rese? Hello?" Cindy questioned.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'll tell him, don't worry. …Hey, Cin, what's going _on_?" Resa asked, wanting information.

"…I'm not exactly _sure_. Jimmy won't tell us anything until you guys get here." Cindy responded. She was clearly annoyed at the fact that her husband was withholding information.

Resa had no reply to this. She listened as the phone was passed from Cindy to her husband, and as the two erupted in a furious argument in the meantime—as they often did.

Finally the phone reached its intended recipient. Jimmy placed the phone up to his ears, and he waited for a sound or a response. There was none. So, he broke the silence.

"…Rese?" Jimmy said.

"Jim? Hey." she responded, not exactly sure of what to say next.

"What's going on? What's wrong?" he asked, clearly concerned after hearing the worried tone in her voice.

"…Um, it's kind of a weird story…" she trailed off.

"I don't think it could _ever_ compare with the weird things that _I_ have seen." Jimmy commented comically. He had a dry sense of humor, but right now, it was well appreciated. "I'm all ears, Rese, let me have it." Jimmy finished.

"…Um, _okay_, here goes… …About a few minutes ago, we saw a group of ships—ships that did _not_ look human—pass by overhead, and they were swarming, as if they were heading to a specific target. Oh, and, Jimmy… …They did _not_ look friendly; they looked _hostile_." Resa explained.

"…And, what about _you_ guys? Are _you_ okay?" Jimmy asked, clearly changing from comical to serious and solemn.

"Yeah, Jim, don't worry about us. We're _fine_. We're on our way over. We'll be there soon." Resa comforted her big-brained friend.

"The kids—are they—" Jimmy's concerned question was cut off by Resa's reassuring remark.

"Jimmy, don't worry about them. They're fine. They can't wait to see you guys." she said warmly.

"Okay, good." he replied. "Listen, Rese, and listen _carefully_." he instructed her.

"…Jimmy what's going o—" she was started, but was stopped by Jimmy's directions.

"Resa, listen, I want you to call 911, and when they answer, say exactly what I am about say, word-for-word—_exact_ verbatim. Do you _understand_?" Jimmy asked.

"…Yeah, I'm ready. What do you want me to say?" she responded, getting a notepad and a pen from her purse. She was ready to listen.

"Okay, when they answer, say, _specifically_: '_Alert SecDef. The lion is roaming. Emergency Contingency Breach. Operation Silver Shield underway. Authentication: 134XCVT._'" he finished his instructions, and she wrote every word of down, not missing a single word of worth.

"…_Okay_… …Anything else?" she asked.

"Yes, the _exact_ moment that you finish speaking, _hang up_. Do _not_ wait for a response; do _not _expect one. Hang up, and stop thinking about it. Got it?" he finished giving his instructions.

"…Um… …Yeah, I got it." she replied. The entire time Resa was on the phone, her voice was barely above a whisper. She was quiet, as to make sure that her children did not hear her, although they strained their ears nonetheless in an attempt to listen in. Thankfully, though, they could not hear the conversation.

"Okay, good. Thanks Rese. I'll see you guys when you arrive. Stay safe." he said, and with that last statement, he hung up and ended the call.

She brought the phone away from her head and held it carefully in her hand, eying it oddly. Carl still had his eyes on the road, but addressed her nonetheless. "_Well_…? What did he say?" he asked his wife.

She looked at him, and before she could respond, she dialed the three digits on her cell phone and put the device back up to her ear. It was ringing.

"Nine-One-One Emergency. Please state your immediate emergency." The female dispatcher answered the phone. She sounded strained and tired, probably from answering so many calls concerning the enemy invaders, and there were _many_ phones going off in the background. The entire energetic and enthralled atmosphere of the call was _very_ hectic.

Resa took a deep breath and exhaled. She was ready to say what she had to. She began to say _exactly_ what Jimmy had told her, making sure to enunciate carefully and speak slowly. "_Alert SecDef, The Lion is roaming. Emergency Contingency Breach. Operation Silver Shield underway. Authentication: 134XCVT._" she finished, and before the dispatcher could respond, Resa deliberately and forcefully ended the call.

She held the phone in her shaking hand, and she wondered what events she had just set in motion. She hoped they would help the situation. _No_, she _knew_ that whatever she had just done would help. Jimmy _always_ knew what to do.

* * *

><p>The alien soldiers—twenty in total—raised their weapons, and in flash, a hail of small blazing blue plasma bolts came flying at the nine humans. They were quick, but Lucy was slightly quicker.<p>

She sprinted towards the attackers, and she quickly dispensed a red energy orb from her belt, clicked a switch on it, and threw it in the direction of her furiously firing enemies. The orb stopped directly in front of the Estevezs' car, and it expanded into a large, circular, red energy shield, and its surface area absorbed a great deal of the oncoming enemy fire.

Most of the blue bolts of fire were deflected; however, some of them were directed directly back at the alien marauders, and the soldiers were surprised, as many of them were struck, scorched, or otherwise knocked to the ground by their own shots.

The remaining bolts of blue, flaming-hot plasma raced by and around the edge of the shield, but the humans had gathered their wits quickly enough, and they had all gathered behind the red energy shield. The plasma bolts that zoomed past the edge of the shield flying by harmlessly as they missed the area where the humans were situated, directly behind the "_Chrysler 300_"—which was perfectly positioned behind Lucy's energy shield.

This "_Car-And-Shield Combination_," thankfully, gave the nine humans two layers of protection. Each of the teenagers now held their warp pistols at the ready—each with its safety turned off and ready to fire.

They each held one weapon in hand, except for Lucy who held two and was the quickest to react. She turned and looked around the corner of the car and returned fire at her alien enemies. The barrage of red plasma hit a few of her enemies—and it hit a good number of them—soundly and squarely, melting and searing their mighty and durable armor.

However, three of Lucy's fired shots hit the red energy shield in front of her, and the three red plasma bolts rebounded, now heading right for her. She ducked back behind the corner of the Chrysler. The red bolts hit the side of the car opposite to side of the car that the kids were located on, and it melted some of the paint and turned it into scrap metal. Sheen noticed this first, and he exclaimed in horror.

"_NO!_ Not my car! Not my **_baby_**!" Sheen yelled, saddened by the "injuries" his vehicle had sustained. Libby, Sam, and Eric all proceeded to look at him in awe and anger, _extreme _annoyance.

"Sheen, _really_? At a time like _this_, you're worried about your _car_?" Libby accused.

Sheen quickly quieted down and noticed the three pairs of shocked eyes looking at him. He saw her point.

"…Um, _sorry_." he responded, eagerly embarrassed by his outburst. He shrunk back into the group of teenagers, who were, by now, preparing to follow Lucy's example and return fire themselves. "Hey, Luce, good shot… …You know, _except for the last three_…" Sheen complimented her, saying the last part of his statement deathly silent, so as not to have anyone hear him.

"Thanks, Mr. Estevez." Lucy responded quickly, her mind working in overtime.

Unfortunately, she did not currently have the time to chat with Sheen. She peeked back around the corner of the vehicle, and she saw that three of her alien enemies were promptly dead—or at least appeared to be fatally finished—by this point. The rest of the enemy soldiers seemed to be getting back up, ready for round two. She eyed the red energy shield in front of her and made a conscious decision.

She turned to look at Ryan, who was now in a kneeled position, as most of his friends were, un-holstering his second warp pistol and clicking the safety off. He had left the protective zone of the Chrysler, but he remained in the edge of the energy shield's defensive barrier.

He was currently behind the back of the shield, and beside the Chrysler, but not behind it. The red shield directly in front of him provided him with enough protection, or at least, so _he_ thought. Lucy addressed Ryan a _very_ loud voice as she made her plan clear.

"_Hey, Ryan_!" she beckoned in a booming voice, sure to get his attention. He looked up to face her, all the while loading and preparing his weapons for the firefight that was to come.

"_Yeah_?" he responded, ready to hear what she had to offer, despite the severity of the situation.

"I can't get a good vantage point from here. I'm gonna move up. Can the shield provide me with active cover?" she inquired, already somewhat on the move, as she sneaked—still cleverly crouched—around the corner of the vehicle, heading toward the back of the red energy shield in front of her.

"Yeah, Luce, it will act as a wall if you lean against it. It's solid. _However_, do **_not_** touch the shield, unless you're at a stand-still. It works on a '_Physics-Force Theorem System_,' so **_anything_** that makes contact with it—anything that is traveling faster than **_eight miles-per-hour_**—will be treated like a projectile, and thus, it will be **_deflected_**!" Ryan yelled back in response.

Lucy quickly nodded at him as she sprinted to her objective. Collin saw his sister's actions, and he called out in worry and concern. "Lucy! …Be c_areful!_" Collin yelled to his sister. She gave him a thumbs-up as she ran towards her objective.

Her alien enemies had regained their composure, and they fired upon the running girl with lightning-fast reflexes; they seemed to be _expertly _trained. She reached the back of the shield, burning blue fire hitting the shield in front of her and zooming quickly past her.

She readied her weapons, her back leaning against the warm and sturdy shield. The shield was warm, _very_ warm, but not warm enough to burn her. She was somewhat comforted by this warmth, as she prepared to defend herself.

She turned around and looked through the red, transparent shield. She swiftly surveyed the platoon of enemy soldiers before her, tainted with the red tinge from the shield. She walked to the edge of the shield and carefully, stealthily, peeked around the corner. The moment she had a clear view, she opened up, spraying her metal-clad enemies with a barrage of red fire.

Many of the rounds connected with their intended targets, but the aliens that were not hit quickly identified the immediate threat and raised their weapons to her. She noticed this, but not with enough time to react, because she had been too eagerly engrossed with killing those _monsters_. She had been _enjoying_ herself to much to notice the alien guns that were now pointed at her. However, these soldiers never got their chance to fire at her, as a wall of red fire collided with them.

She turned and saw Ryan, who was now running, full speed, to directly opposite end of the public property, across the parking lot—to the left of the Estevezs' Chrysler. As he ran, he sprayed the aliens with red-hot plasma. Lucy was thankful for this distraction, and she took the opportunity to retreat behind the shield, regain her composure, and once again, she began firing at her enemies.

They were falling; they were dying, but it was happening much too slow for her liking. Soon thereafter, all of teens who possessed weapons opened up—from any view point that they could manage—on their new enemies.

Eric, Sean, Collin, Lacey, and even Sam fired on their new enemies with intent. Sam's fear was still present on her young face, but it was clearly overpowered by her more-dominant emotion and her fierce feeling of determination.

The hail of red plasma hit the aliens like a brick wall, and they responded, with an equally destructive barrage of blue fire. The parking lot was, once again, ablaze. Ryan noticed that Sheen and Libby were left out of the action, as they both kneeled behind their car, their hands empty of weapons. They looked on anxiously as the teens and the well-trained aliens exchanged fire. The shield was still taking the good brunt of their blue fire, and the teens were thankful for this.

Eric and Sam were behind the Chrysler with their parents, and they peeked out and returned fire whenever they saw fit. Ryan quickly and quietly hatched an idea.

He quickly checked his weapons, and—on the weapon the most ammo remaining—he clicked the safety on. He then quickly holstered this weapon, unclipped the holster from his jeans, and he tossed the now-holstered weapon to Lucy.

She was not expecting this weapon to come flying at her, but the moment that it registered in her vision, she quickly dropped one of her guns and caught the pre-holstered weapon in her empty left hand. She looked at it, stunned and surprised. She looked up at Ryan, angry and annoyed.

"_RYAN_?_!_ _WHAT THE HELL__?!_" she yelled across the parking lot.

"Sorry Luce. Had to do it. Give it to Sam." he responded quickly, not having enough time to respond completely, as he was currently under fire, without any cover and now with only _one_ weapon in his hands.

Ryan ran—dodging and expertly evading blazing blue bolts, and returning fire—across the almost-empty parking lot. Ryan reached Sean's car—a charcoal "_Nissan Altima_"—and he took cover behind it, thankful to finally have a place to avoid enemy fire.

Sean noticed this, and he was instantly dismayed. When blue alien plasma made contact with his vehicle, he had almost the same reaction that Sheen had moments before; however, _his_ reaction was _much_ more melodramatic.

"_NO!_ _NOT THE CAR! TAKE THE GIRL, INSTEAD, OH MGHTY ALIEN MASTERS!_" Sean excitedly exclaimed, dropping his weapon, and pushing his girlfriend towards their enemies, as he kneeled and bowed to his "_masters_," in an attempt to "appease" them.

Lacey immediately turned red in the face, and proceeded to _violently_ pistol-whip her over-reactive boyfriend in the head. He hit the ground with a very loud volume, and he _slowly_ and _painfully_ regained his composure.

He picked up his weapon and once again gained his grasp around his high-tech handgun.

Although he was still dazed and confused, he resumed firing at his enemies, an _angry _Lacey eyeing him the entire time.

Even in the heat of battle, the _entire_ group noticed this and they were all unable to make sense of it. Even their alien enemies seemed to be taken-off-guard by this weird, unplanned, and unexpected action, although they did not stop firing. After a short pause in the shooting, the teens then resumed firing at their enemies.

Lucy quickly remembered what Ryan had ordered her to do, and she carefully slid the gun—the very one that he had tossed to her—on the ground to Sam, who was still behind the Chrysler, firing at her enemies in sporadic bursts.

The weapon approached her feet, and she stopped firing and looked at it curiously, unsure of where it came from or what to do with it. Ryan saw her confused expression, and he gave her an order.

"Sam, Give it to your mom or dad!" Ryan barked from across the parking lot. She turned to him and nodded briefly. She picked up the weapon and handed it to her father. He looked at somewhat confused, before gladly accepting the weapon.

"_Sweet_! It's _my _turn now! I hope you alien punks are ready for a face full of _Sheen_!" Sheen yelled, as he began to let loose barrages of searing and scorching scarlet plasma. His daughter soon acted in a similar action.

Lucy had now caught on to Ryan's plan, and quickly checked her own weapons. She holstered the one that had the highest battery charge. She tossed the weapon to Libby, shouting as she did so. "Mrs. Folfax, heads up!" Lucy screamed. Libby finally took notice of the weapon that was coming toward her, and she had just barely managed to catch it with a loose and lethargic reaction.

Libby looked at the weapon in her hand—the blue-green symbol of an atom surrounded by a swirling vortex etched on its side.

"…And, um… …Just what _exactly_ am I suppo—" Libby's question was cut off by Lucy's response.

"_USE IT_!" Lucy commanded, still trying her best to keep herself alive and kill her enemies at the same time, all while using only _one_ weapon.

By this point in the conflict, their remained only five standing alien soldiers, and even though they seemed to know that they were fighting a losing battle, they continued to fight. Their determination was _incredible_.

Libby still seemed unsure about using the weapon—until she saw a blue bolt of plasma race over her daughter's head. Libby's expression and emotions changed _immediately_ from uncertain uneasiness, to raging revenge.

"Not _my_ daughter, you _BITCH_!" Libby boomed, as she un-holstered her weapon and proceeded to mow down the reaming alien troopers. She stepped out from the protection, of both her car and outside the protective zone of the shield, and she opened fire on the remaining invaders.

She emptied the entirety of the battery's charge, as she emptied the _entire_ clip into her opponents, killing them all.

Afterwards, the firefight ceased. The humans were victorious. The seven teenagers looked at Libby with a mixture of confusion, amazement, awe, and pure unbridled _fear_.

"…Heh, heh… …Um, hey, Luce, I think your gun is out of, um… …Out of _bullets_, I guess." Libby said, unsure of what the right word was for the item she was thinking of.

The seven teenagers _slowly_ shook off their stupor. "…Heh, heh, um, _yeah_, um, don't worry about that, Mrs. Folfax." Lucy responded, clearly stunned and impressed by Libby's display of heroism and hardcore tactics.

The seven teenagers looked around and surveyed the damage and the carnage. They then looked at their rides out this hellhole. Sean's car, Ryan's bike, Sheen's car, and Jake's hover-bike still seemed operational and ready to go. This was a good sign. At least _something_ was going right for them in this situation that was _quickly_ going from bad to worse.

Lucy clicked on the safety on her weapon, and she holstered it, as she walked over to the site of her dead enemies. As she surveyed her lifeless alien enemies, she addressed them, saying only four words: "Welcome to planet Earth."

**A/N: Awww, aren't Carl's kids just adorable? I wonder what on Earth (literally, seeing as it's a planetary invasion) is going on? There is only one way to answer all of these questions: stay tuned for the next update. R&R!**


	6. The Reunion: Just Like Old Times

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy neutron, or any rights to any affiliated objects, memorandums, or merchandise associated with the franchise—legally, anyways.**

***New Notice*: My first couple of OneShots have BEEN POSTED/PUBLISHED! They are under the story title, "_GTNG Ongoing OneShots_," and ANY/ALL of them will/would flow chronologically (In "_Time-Order_"), and will/would give GREAT insight into THIS story, so be sure to check 'em out!**

**Author Announcement(s): Well, I said my future A/Ns would be shorter, so… **

**VI. The Reunion: Just Like Old Times**

Lucy surveyed the immense damage before her. The parking lot was a mess, a _terrible_ mess. It was completely ablaze now, flames licking at almost every inch of it. The parking now fully resembled the place that the nine humans had come to associate it with: _hell. _

Miraculously, the only spots clear of the intense heat seemed to be where the nine humans were standing, feet from the Estevezs' Chrysler. Ferocious flames danced around Jake's hover-bike, which was currently resting near the spot that Ryan's own bike resided in.

The flames seemed to perfectly compliment the bike on its color-scheme, and its chaotic and speedy nature. Jake's bike was a machine very similar to his sister's bike, although it did not have graviton boosters or a sixth gear. His bike was painted a sleek silver color, with painted flames dancing around the silver paint in a beautiful fashion.

These flames that were painted on his hover-bike seemed to perfectly match and compliment the actual flames that burned brightly around the bike. His bike seemed completely unharmed and uninhibited, and the blue-green symbol of an atom surrounded by a swirling vortex that was etched in its side gleamed with unnatural and luminescent brightness in the fire.

Ryan's bike, however, had sustained several burns and plasma scorches, as soot marks and singed metal were peeling around the frame of his red-and-black vehicle. Thankfully though, at least as far as the teens could tell, it was still operational. Sean's car, which was further away from the two boys' bikes, still had its usual charcoal-black paint job intact, and although it had several burn marks, the black paint hid them well.

Lucy was still a little dazed, although she was certainly not afraid. Killing some of her alien enemies had alleviated some of her former stress and assisted with some of her anger issues. Lucy stood the closest to her now-dead alien attackers. She eyed their bodies with a mixture of emotions. Her facial expression was unreadable. The scorched and burnt armor of the aliens gleamed in the light of the flames—flames that they had caused—of the parking lot around them.

Her brother, Collin, was some distance behind her, watching her ever-so-carefully. Lucy slowly, deliberately, scanned the entire property of the parking lot around her. She located each of her friends, and she, in turn, took note of the current locations, expressions, actions, and reactions of her eight human allies. Ryan was some distance away, checking his weapon and periodically looking over at his bike. Lacey and Sean were close to him, seemingly waiting to follow orders given to them by their leader.

They looked intently at Ryan, who either did not notice their gazes, or simply ignored them completely. He had by now finished examining his pistol. He holstered his weapon, and now began to closely examine his belt-generator. Sean and Lacey's eyes found each other, as they quickly looked up from where Ryan stood, and their hands interlocked. They once again averted their eyes from each other, but their hands remained intertwined. Apparently, Sean was forgiven for his earlier remark about "taking the girl, to save his car."

Lucy continued to scan around the parking lot. The Estevez family was relatively close to their Chrysler. They were huddled together in a circle, as Sheen and Libby inspected their children carefully, making sure that Sam and Eric had not sustained any injury. Lucy smiled inwardly at the fact that even throughout all of this carnage and destruction, there was still affection and tenderness present. Finally her gaze stopped on her brother, whose gaze was focused on only one object: it was focused on _her_. She raised an eyebrow and eyed him cautiously before addressing him.

"Something wrong?" she said with a semi-smirk, knowing full-well that there was more than _something_ wrong.

"You're hurt." he responded, his tone unreadable and devoid of emotion. He was very vague, and even somber, and this was _very_ unusual for Collin to behave this way—even in the current circumstances.

She looked at her brother curiously. '_I'm hurt?_' she thought to herself. She had no injuries that she was aware of. As far as she could tell, all of the humans that were involved in the firefight had sustained absolutely _no_ injuries, thanks mostly, to the energy shield.

She quickly shifted her gaze to her red energy shield, which was still active and currently in front of the Estevezs' Chrysler. Her gaze quickly returned to her brother, as she eyed him carefully. "What do you mean, 'I'm hurt.'?" she asked her brother, curiously awaiting his answer.

He responded by simply pointing to her. She followed his gaze, and her eyes soon found what he was referring to: the sleeve of her black-and-white top was singed and burnt at the shoulder. Upon closer inspection, she found that the skin beneath had some soot marks of burn residue on it. She tenderly touched the afflicted area, and she quickly concluded that the burns were not serious, hence the reason for her not noticing them beforehand. She looked back at her brother, who was still gazing at worriedly her.

His expression had changed, and he now clearly resembled a worried and concerned older brother. "It's fine. Nothing to worry about; I'll get it checked out later, but for right now it'll b—" she was cut off by her brother's plea.

"No. You should get it taken care of now, _right now_." he responded, his worry fading to a commandingly concerned voice. Collin didn't truly show affection for his sister, _ever_. It wasn't that he didn't care for her. Anyone that knew him knew how much he loved his little sibling, but he _rarely_ felt the need to protect or coddle her. He _knew_ that she handle herself, and she didn't need him babysitting her.

This time, however, was somewhat different. He was clearly worried about her small injury, not because it was serious, but because it was probably the first of long series of injuries that she would receive.

Instead of being insulted by that fact that he was giving her an order—as Lucile Gallagher did _not_ take orders—she seemed to be flattered that he was so worried. "Col, it's _fine_. I'm _fine_." she responded, smiling whole-heartedly for the first time since she had first seen an alien ship.

Collin's expression loosened and he returned the smile, only his smile was half-heated, and he nodded in response. Just at that moment, more of the enemy alien ships were seen flying by overhead, and the sight of it grabbed _all_ nine of the humans' attentions. They all simultaneously looked up. Lucy's hand immediately went to her warp pistol. Her left hand instinctively, intricately, groped at her pocket, feeling the outline of the sterile needle housed there.

These ships, however, did not stop to confront the teens. They did not even acknowledge their human enemies. They flew by, as if they were headed to a specific target. Lucy's hand released her weapon, and she eyed their path-of-travel very carefully. These ships were heading for downtown.

Ryan was the first to make a major movement. He reached into his pocket and retrieved nine more pill-shaped batteries. He held them up for all to see. All of his friends, including the four that were standing around their Chrysler, stopped to look at him. Everybody stopped what they were doing, and they all approached Ryan, carefully. He tossed the nine batteries in turn, one to each of his friends. They all received the objects and eyed them suspiciously.

"Those are the last of the batteries, so use them _wisely_." he instructed the semi-confused group around him.

Libby looked at the pistol in her left hand, now completely out of battery-charge. She then eyed the battery in her right hand, seeming to be making a decision. "Here, Luce, _you'll_ need this more than I will." Libby said, offering the weapon back to its original owner. Lucy looked at outstretched hand, and then up at Libby.

"Mrs. Folfax, you should really—" Lucy began bur was cut off by Libby's kind response.

"Trust me girl, I don't need a gun to take care of myself. Besides, did you forget where we're going? Jimmy's house is practically the national armory." Libby said, smiling. Lucy graciously accepted the weapon, smiling in return.

"Thanks, Mrs. Folfax." she took the weapon from Libby, and she _expertly_ dispensed the spent battery, and reloaded the weapon. Collin eyed his sister. She was a little _too good_ at that for his liking. Lucy caught Collin's gaze, and she smiled deviously at her brother. He chuckled.

Libby then tossed Lucy her spare battery, and she proceeded to eye Sheen expectantly. Sheen whistled nonchalantly, as if nothing was wrong. She eyed him even more seriously.

"…_Well_?" she addressed her husband.

"Well what?" he responded defensively.

"Don't you think that it would be a good idea to give Ryan _his_ gun back?" Libby questioned.

"…" Sheen took the holstered warp pistol off his belt and eyed it sadly.

"_SHEEN_!" Libby roared.

"Okay, okay, _sheesh_!" Sheen replied, tossing the weapon back to Ryan. Ryan caught it and clipped it on his pants in one very swift motion.

"Thanks Mr. Estevez." Ryan said to Sheen who simply nodded in response, obviously upset at having to give up his new toy.

"Yeah, you're welcome." Sheen grumbled.

"…_Well_… …We should _really_ think about getting out of here. Any more of those alien freaks show up, and this place won't _look_ like hell; it'll _be_ hell." Sean interjected. The eight others looked at him in surprise. They all nodded response; he had uttered the same truth that they were all thinking.

"He's right." Ryan added. The six teens looked to their leader for orders. "Mr. Estevez, Mrs. Folfax, you two take Eric and Sam to Jen's house. We'll hang back for a second." Ryan addressed the Estevez family.

"…Rye, are _sure_ about that? I mean, you guys could come with us. We can tak—" Libby's words were interrupted by Lucy's brash statement.

"No. We have some unfinished business to attend to." she said, eying the alien ships that were passing by overhead. Her eyes burned with intent and determination, and perhaps a little anger as well.

"…Well, _okay_, but _only_ if you guys are sure." Libby said, gauging the expressions of the five teenagers in front of her. She knew these kids since they were little, and she didn't want anything bad to happen to them.

"Haha, yeah, we're sure. Besides, in case you don't remember, Mr. Neutron doesn't really have a liking towards me. I'd probably be safer fighting the aliens, than being in the same house as him." Ryan said, chuckling comically.

He was joking, but he wasn't lying. Jimmy had not liked Ryan, from the first day Jenny had met him. He _knew_ that his daughter had the ability to defend herself. In all actuality, she could probably _easily_ beat Ryan in a fight. However, although this was true, he took an immediate disliking to Ryan, even though Jenny continuously denied having feelings for him.

"Haha, yeah man, you got that right. Jimmy has a whole section of his lab dedicated to making inventions to scare, hurt, or torture you!" Sheen commented, bursting into a fit of laughter. Libby eyed him seriously, and he stopped laughing. Ryan's face turned slightly green. He didn't know Jimmy took it _that_ seriously. But, then again, Sheen was known for his off-the-wall brand of comedy. He hoped that Sheen was only joking.

"…Heh heh, um, _thanks_ for the info, Mr. Estevez." Ryan replied uneasily.

"Alright, well, I guess that we'll get going." Sheen said, indicating the end of his family's stay.

The five remaining teenagers nodded in response.

"Listen, you guys—_all_ of you guys—be safe, _okay_?" Eric addressed his friends. They all replied with an affirmative gesture in response.

"Don't worry man. We'll be fine. We got the two badest badasses here with us." Sean said, motioning to Lucy and Ryan. The two appreciated the comment and Lucy smiled in thanks, as Ryan motioned a sign of thanks with a subtle nod.

"_AHEM!_" Lacey cleared her throat rather loudly, getting Sean's attention. "And just what am I? Chop liver?" she asked, now obviously angry at his insinuation.

Sean gulped hard. "…_NO_! Of course not! Please don't pistol-whip me again!" Sean pleaded, as he got on knees and began to beg. At seeing this, the group around him burst into a small fit of laughter.

"_Ughhh_. Boy! Get up off the floor!" she ordered and he did as he was told. The group's laughter died down, and the Estevez family finally prepared to leave. They all entered their Chrysler. Sam was the last one to get in. Lucy approached her and hugged her best friend, to which Sam responded eagerly.

"You _better_ stay safe, got it?" Sam commanded. Lucy smiled and nodded at her friend. The two friends finally broke apart, and Sam entered the vehicle. All four of the doors slammed shut, and the car, _cautiously_, exited the parking, trying its best to avoid the scorching flames that engulfed it. The car soon exited the parking lot, accelerating and gaining speed the entire time, and quite soon they were out of sight. The five remaining teenagers stood there for some time, before any of them were able to move. Collin was the first to speak.

"So, uh, what's the plan chief?" he said to Ryan, addressing his friend.

Ryan looked straight at him. "Let's get the hell out of here." Ryan readily responded, and Collin nodded, appreciative that they were finally leaving this god-forsaken place.

"So, um, who's going with who?" Lacey asked.

Ryan looked around at the three remaining vehicles in the lot. His bike could seat a maximum of two. Sean's car would seat all five of them; however, Ryan had a feeling that traveling together in one group was a bad idea. Then, there was Jake's hover-bike. Unfortunately, Jake had the remote for his vehicle, and thus, they had no way to start it.

"I guess you three," he said, motioning to Lacey, Sean, and Collin, "will go in Sean's car, and Luce and I will take my bike." Ryan suggested.

"…And, um, where are we going, exactly?" Sean inquired.

"You three head home, to _each_ of your houses, grab anything that could be used for supplies—food, water, etc.—and tell your parents what's going on. After you've done all that, meet Luce and myself outside the Candy Bar." Ryan finished his explanation.

"And _where_, exactly, might I ask, are _you two_ going?" Collin asked in a curious tone, arching his eyebrow.

"Luce and I are going to see where the hell all those ships are headed. There's obviously _something_ downtown that has them interested." Ryan stated.

"So let me get this straight. You're taking _my_ _little_ sister into a city, crawling with hostile aliens?" Collin asked in accusative tone.

Ryan was somewhat shocked at Collin's response. Ryan took some time to compose himself and respond to his friend properly. "Col, she _is_ the best fighter we've got—well, besides myself, of course. Believe me, we are taking the _least_ amount of risks if Luce and I go." Ryan reasoned.

Collin grumbled something inaudible. Lucy approached her brother and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked down at her, and she smiled in return. "Col, I'll be _fine_." she reassured him. He nodded reluctantly. He knew Ryan was right, but he still didn't want her to go.

"Aright then, we should get going." Ryan stated. Lucy, however, seemed to have had other ideas.

"Now hold on just a second. Although I will be going with you, Ryan, I will _not_ be riding with you." she said, addressing the group's leader.

"And just how exactly do you plan to get there, Luce?" he questioned in reply.

She responded by pointing to her boyfriend's hover-bike and smirking.

"And just, how exactly, are you going to _start_ it? In case you haven't noticed, Jake took his remote with him." Ryan said, thinking that he was pointing out the flaw in her logic. Lucy, however, had already thought of this and responded rather quickly.

"I can get around that little problem." she said, still smiling.

"…_How_?" Ryan was now truly interested.

"I'll do it by crossing the bike's security wiring into its electrical speed systems, and then I'll—" Lucy's explanation was stopped short by Ryan' surprised reply.

"_WHAT_? You're going to _hotwire_ his bike?" he asked, incredulous at her proposed plan-of-action.

"Um, yeah, I _guess_ you could call it that…" Lucy trailed off.

"How do you even know how to do that?" he asked. He and Lucy were very smart, and he knew that she was no idiot. But even Ryan didn't know _that _much about Jenny's hover-bike, so he wondered how Lucy knew so much about Jake's bike.

"Um, well, I helped him modify it a few times, so I know the general layout of its systems." Lucy replied, shrugging.

"Wow, well, look at that: my sister, the _felon_." Collin said mockingly.

"Well, now I wouldn't be talking about _morals, _if I were you. If I'm not mistaken, you'll probably make me an aunt by this time next year, oh _lustful_ one." she responded, jokingly sticking her tongue out at her brother.

"…_HEY_!" Was all Collin could muster in response. She smiled.

"Well, then, I guess it's settled. Before we get going though, would you all please hand me your cell phones?" Ryan requested. His friends eyed him suspiciously, but did as they were asked.

When he had all of the phones in his hands, he pulled a small metallic device form his pocket. The device had the symbol that the two geniuses put on all of their inventions; it was another one of Jenny's miracle-workers. Ryan proceeded to pull out four similar devices, and he placed one on each phone. He handed the phones back to his friends. They looked at their respective phones with a confused expression.

"They're frequency jammers. The aliens won't be able to tap into our conversations or overhear us." he explained. His friends nodded in response, putting their phones in their pockets. "They also have another feature." he said, looking around at the annoyed expressions of his friends. They were tired of the suspense; they just wanted to know what the things did.

"…And _that_ would be?" Lucy asked, somewhat snappily.

"Push-to-talk." Ryan answered. Lucy arched an eyebrow. "Push the jammer-button and any other communications device with one of those jammers on it will hear what you say. They'll be able to respond just a simply. It's a handy feature when you're driving, or in high-stress situations, and when you can't afford to dial a whole number." he finished. They finally understood. "Listen, _all_ of you better show up at the Candy bar, or I'm going to have to come after you, _understand_?" he questioned. He got four positive nods in response. "Good, let's get going then." he finally finished his rant.

They all walked to, and entered, their respective vehicles. They were all careful to avoid the flames that were all around the lot. Lucy took some time to "reroute" the wiring on Jake's bike. She hoped on the bike and straddled the seat, as she adjusted the settings on the vehicle. Ryan had already started his bike, and he now pulled up beside Lucy.

"You good?" he asked her. She nodded. "Alright then, Luce. Stay on my ass, and stay _high_, oaky. I'll probably need some air-support." he stated, and once again she nodded. Ryan put on his reinforced red-and-black helmet and snapped the visor shut. He then tossed Lucy his spare helmet; it had the same color-scheme as his own purposefully protective head-shield. She caught the helmet and put it on, snapping her own visor shut. She pushed an override switch and the bike lurched as it started up, rising a feet into the air.

Sean pulled up next to the two, on the other side of Lucy, and the back window of the car rolled down to reveal a Collin with worry all over his face. "Lucy, be _careful_." he urged her.

"You know it." she smiled in return. Just then, a dizzying red blur caught all of their attentions. They turned their heads, to see that Lucy's energy shield had disappeared. The five teens took notice of this and made a conscious, silent, decision: they had spent more than enough time in this place.

The three vehicles revved their engines, and without a second thought, they took off, exiting the parking lot and heading towards their intended targets. Ryan took off down the street, and Lucy was close behind, and several feet overhead.

* * *

><p>"Neutron! You are SUCH an idiot!" Cindy boomed, obviously angry at her husband.<p>

"Oh, _REALLY_?" Jimmy shot back.

"Yes, _REALLY_!" she confirmed his accusation.

"Cindy would you just go along with it?" Jimmy asked, on the verge of begging. Even though he was furious with his wife, he couldn't deny that he needed her help—and he knew that yelling at her was not the way to get it.

"_NO!_ I am _not_ going to let you demolish my house!" she exploded excitedly.

"Ughh, I _SWEAR_, Vortex, you are _so_ hard to reason with sometimes!" he spat back, vehemently.

Jake and Jenny observed their arguing parents with growing curiosity and concern. Jimmy and Cindy fought and argued frequently—_very_ frequently—but this was somehow different. They only used their last names when they really, _truly _upset.

The two teenagers looked on in awe as their two parents continued to go at it. Jake was clearly more worried than his older sister, who seemed to be enjoying the show. Jenny watched her arguing parents with curiosity and amusement, that is until a single though registered in her mind.

'_WAIT! Did mom just say "DEMOLISH our house"?_' Jenny thought to herself, her intrigue and amusement turning into wary worry and concern. '_What the hell did she mean by DEMOLSIH?_' she racked her brain once again. Jenny consciously concluded that this must have had something to do with that "Danger Close" Protocol her father had mentioned earlier.

Whatever "_Protocol: Danger Close_" was, Jake and Jenny were still in the dark regarding its purpose or what was so dire about having to use it. From what Jenny had gathered, the protocol required _both_ of her parents to give their access codes to Aria, in order to initiate the procedure. Jimmy had given the program his command-code, "Emerald Eyes," and even though this was a direct reference to his wife's beauty, instead of being flattered, Cindy became enraged.

She refused to give Aria her own access code, and thus, the protocol had not been able to be initiated. Jimmy seemed very upset by Cindy's insolence, and accordingly, their angry argument expectantly erupted. There was _something_ about this protocol that made Cindy want to avoid using it, and Jenny was sure that she had just found out why. Her father had been withholding information, promising to fill everyone in when his friends arrived.

Usually Jenny was not one to wait for information; however, she was just happy to be home at the current moment, so she let it go, deciding to wait until Carl and Sheen arrived in order to learn what the real problem was. After hearing that her house had a chance of being demolished, though, she decided that she wanted to know what was going on, _right now_.

"_I'm _hard to reason with? You won't even tell us what is _so_ terrifying that we have to use our _last_ resort, yet you want me to blindly allow you to destroy my home?" she responded, her usual rage filling her voice.

"Cindy, it's _our_ home, remember?" he added, angry at her possessiveness.

"Oh, _that's_ right! It _is_ _our_ home! Well, excuse me! I'm sorry, let me rephrase: you want me to blindly agree to let you blow up _our_ house?" she retorted.

'_BLOW UP?_' Jenny thought. Her mind was now completely on edge. '_Why would dad EVER make a protocol like THT?_' she asked herself silently.

"Are you _INSANE_?" Jimmy asked his wife, whose murderous snake eyes said that his assumption was correct, and that his question only made things worse. Her expression deepened in rage.

"Am _I_ _insane_?" she asked, incredulously, making sure that she had heard him correctly. "I think that the correct question would be: are _you_ insane?" she shot back.

Jimmy was about to reply with his usual snappy comeback, but he was interrupted by his daughter before he could even get a word out.

"_AHEM_!" Jenny loudly cleared her throat. The two arguing adults stopped in their tracks and turned to face their daughter. She had successfully grabbed their attention. Both of her parents looked somewhat confused, and they both looked _very_ shocked at her sudden vocal outburst. Jimmy and Cindy quickly glanced at each other, raised an eyebrow, and turned their stare back to their daughter.

"What _exactly_ do you mean by 'demolish,' or 'blow up'?" she inquired. She was obviously anticipating their response with a major amount of concern—an amount of concern that was very _unusual_ for her to have. She waited for her parents' reply, as she looked up at them with expecting eyes, clearly filled with worry.

Jimmy and Cindy, both, once again, looked up at each other, and their gazes were intense, as her emerald eyes seared into his ocean orbs. After silently deciding something, they responded to their worried daughter.

"_Well_?" Jenny added, impatiently awaiting an explanation.

"Listen, honey, there is a lot that's going on right now, and maybe right wouldn't be the best time to—" Cindy started, but was cut off by her son, who until this point had not voiced any concerns.

"_Last_ resort? What are you two talking about? Dad, what's going on?" Jake questioned his father.

Jimmy glanced at Cindy. She had no response. There was no other alternative. Jimmy bowed his head and shook it. He would have to tell them. He knew his children could handle anything, but he had wanted to prolong telling them what he was about to disclose, even if only for a few minutes.

"Jake, Jenny, listen, there are a few things that we haven't told you two." Jimmy stated blatantly.

"_Hmmmmm_… …I don't know if you've forgotten dad, but we're not exactly _idiots_! We kind of already inferred that, but what we want to know is what, _exactly_, it is that you tow haven't told us." Jenny replied rather brashly.

Jimmy raised an eyebrow at her blatantly rash rudeness. He had been trying to work with her on controlling that temper. Even through all the turmoil of the situation, he still managed to catch her tone and give her a "_remember who you're talking to, young lady_" look. Jenny loosened her tense form. Even though Jimmy was trying his best to maintain his "fatherly-disciplinarian" appearance, he couldn't help but notice how much like her mother Jenny looked when she got angry, as she often did.

"Sorry dad." she apologized, a little defeated. She _hated_ being defeated, and she was thankful that her parents were the only two people who could beat her at her own game—_well_, _perhaps_ Ryan could beat her as well, on _some_ occasions, but she would _never_ admit that.

"Sorry for what?" Jimmy questioned, not willing to let her off the hook so easily.

"…_Sorry_ for being so…so…" she searched for the right word; she didn't want to use the word _rude_, "…for being so _honest_." she said, finally finishing her "apology" with a brilliant display of her quick thinking.

Jimmy rolled his eyes, and Cindy chuckled. He was about to chastise Jenny further, when Cindy intervened. Just as he raised his finger and opened his mouth, his wife spoke up.

"Oh, let it go, Jimmy! She already apologized. You can't blame her for outsmarting you!" Cindy jeered her husband, slightly amused at her daughter's wit. Jenny smiled at her newfound ally, and Cindy returned the favor. Jimmy huffed out a deep breath, but he seemed to take Cindy's words to heart, as he relaxed and his stern stature became languid.

"Fine." Jimmy gave into his wife's request. "…_But_, this _isn't_ over." he said, addressing his daughter.

"Oh, c'mon Jim, don't you think that she's had enough? Besides, there are more _pressing_ matters at hand." Cindy reasoned, still trying to get her daughter off the hook.

Jimmy heard what she had said, but he never moved his head. He _couldn't_ move his head. His deep blue eyes were locked on his daughter's own deep ocean eyes. They were locked on his _own_ eyes. She gave him the most endearing expression she could muster, and looking into those eyes, he saw that precious five-year-old girl that he had been previously reminiscing about. He couldn't punish that girl. He hated when he did this; he _always_ melted when she did that, when she made that face. Cindy was right: he was such a softie.

"Oh, _alright_." Jimmy completely gave up the crusade he was on. Jenny smiled at her father.

"Thanks dad." he said, thankfully.

"Yeah, yeah. Just watch your tone, huh? The way that _you_ talk, people are apt to think that _everything_ you say is '_fightin' words_.'" Jimmy finished jokingly. Surprisingly, what he had said was actually somewhat funny, as Jenny chuckled—or, perhaps, she was just humoring him, glad to be out of a possible punishment.

"Haha, well, it's not _that_ bad." Jenny tried to defend herself.

"…_Actually_ honey, I think he has a point there. You _do_ have a pretty bad temper." Cindy said light-heartedly.

Jenny smirked at her mother. "And just _where_, oh where, do you think I might have picked _that_ up?" Jenny asked sarcastically, and Cindy smiled in response at her daughter. She had her beat; Cindy had nothing to respond with. She was right. When she was mad, Jenny was a spitting image of her mother, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, and they both knew it.

"…_Anyways_…" Jake said, trying to get everyone back on topic. The three others eyed him with a surreal expression, until they remembered what they were previously discussing.

"…_So_, what were you saying about this whole '_Protocol: Danger Close_' thing?" Jake asked, addressing both of his parents.

They were somewhat faster to respond than earlier, and Jimmy was the first to reply to his son. "It's… …It's a defense mechanism, of sorts." he responded very vaguely, barely even hinting at what the protocol _actually_ did. Jake raised an eyebrow, but before he could inquire any further, his sister beat him to the punch.

"What kind of defense mechanism, _exactly_, is it?" she elaborated her brother's on previous question.

"It's… …A _dangerous_ one." Jimmy said, still not letting information slip out of mouth. Jenny rolled her eyes slightly, but not enough for her father to see.

"…_Dangerous_? Just _how_ dangerous, _exactly_, are we talking here? I mean, is it like '_be careful with that knife! Oh, no, I cut myself!_,' dangerous, or is it more like, '_OH MY GOD! Is that a tear in the universe?_,' dangerous?" Jenny asked, and her _very_ _weird_ way of describing the different types of "_dangerous_" earned her warily weird looks from the rest of her family.

"…_Well_, in a matter of speaking, it's our _last_ resort, if that helps at all." Jimmy replied, still slightly shocked at his daughter's _uncharacteristic_ and peculiar use of adjectives.

"Yeah, dad, I think we got that. I mean, what, _exactly_, does it do?" Jake asked, getting to the point.

"…" Jimmy did not respond. He was at a dead end. He couldn't mislead his children anymore. He was out of options; he had to tell them. Jake and Jenny, both, raised any eyebrow at his awkward silence. The two siblings stopped to look at each other quickly, before turning back to their parents. Jimmy's head hung low, and his expression was heavy, however, unreadable. Cindy looked just as equally worried, if not more so.

"…_Dad_…?" Jake spoke, once again, requesting information.

Jimmy looked up to gaze directly at his children. His eyes were fierce and serious. Jimmy had looked like that only one time before: when the Russian radicals had kidnapped him. His intense blue gaze broke the silence, before anyone's words could do so. He was finally ready to tell them. He opened his mouth in order to explain the dire situation that they were in, but before he could get any words out, his wife spoke on his behalf.

"_Well_, and this is putting simply—_very_ simply, mind you—the protocol, basically, is set-up to destroy the house." Cindy stated before her husband could even speak.

Her children stared blankly at her. They the alternated their view to face their father, who's gaze was just as severe as their mother's cold stare. They were serious! Were they INSANE? The two siblings wondered this, or they _would_ have wondered this, had they not been so shocked, to even think, at _all_.

The two teens blinked a few times, dumbstruck, and obviously stunned and at a loss for words, before either of them could respond. "_WHAT?_" they both suddenly screamed in unison, not believing what their mother had just told them.

The two adults just stood there, unsure of exactly what to say next.

After some time of _intense_ and _awkward_ silence, the mood seemed to lighten, _somewhat_, and Jake and his sister were now fully capable of comprehending the seriousness of the situation, and when next he spoke, he did so softly.

"…_Dad_? _…Mom_?" Jake spoke somewhat uneasily.

Jimmy finally looked up. The soft tone in his son's voice seemed to give the impression that the explosive feeling of the situation had diffused, at least _somewhat_ diffused. He could now safely address his children, without the fear of reproach, or so he hoped.

Cindy's intense glare alternated between her husband and her children, as she anticipated what was to come next. The explanation was something that her children could _easily_ handle. They had handled _much_ worse in the past. But this… …_This_ was different, _very_ different. They had never been forced to consider loosing this house—_their_ house. It was their last resort for a reason, after all.

'_But what was so serious that it had even been considered as a possibility?_' both of the teenagers clearly wondered as they stood there, unabashed in their need for answers, and completely anxious about what that answer might be. They dreaded what might come out of Jimmy's mouth next, although they most likely already knew the worst of it, or at least they _hoped_ that they had heard the worst of it.

Jenny raised an eyebrow at her father's slowness in responding. He was usually very quick on his feet; something was wrong, and although she had already gathered that information, something new popped into her mind: whatever was wrong had Jimmy worried, and he was _never_ worried, even when the terrorists had captured him.

"_Dad_?" Jenny apprehensively addressed her father. Jimmy looked right at her, and he was clearly troubled out of his mind. Seeing this expression on his face only heightened Jenny's sense of foreboding. Cindy continued to eye her husband, giving an expression that was a mixture of concern, agitation, and shock. She continued to look at him, all the while retaining that look of intense emotion on her face. The silent electricity of their emotions filled the quite room, and soon the entire house was ablaze with it. Jake and Jenny, both stood there, still awaiting a response from their dazed father. Jimmy was still looking directly at his daughter, and he looked as though he was at a loss for words; he couldn't talk. Noticing this, Jenny urged him.

"Dad, it's okay, whatever it is, you can tell us. We can handle it." she reassured her distressed father.

Hearing this, Jimmy was slightly comforted, but his worried expression remained, and his mouth remained closed. Cindy saw that this was going nowhere fast, so she intervened. "Oh, Jimmy, just tell them." she spoke up at last, giving her consent for him to disclose whatever information that seemed to be so very dastardly. Jimmy let out a deep breath, and he was about to speak, to _finally_ address his children's concerns. Before he could even utter a sound, however, he was interrupted by the voice of his own program.

"Sir, United States Secretary of Defense, Jason Roamer, is requesting a video conference with you. Should I put him through?" the familiar artificial voice asked.

Jimmy looked up, surprised and shocked, but also somewhat relieved to have some reason to further avoid the current conversation with his children. He viewed the easily recognized holographic face. The wall panel that bore her face had just been revealed moments before, after a small section of wall had retracted itself. The family of four—which was currently gathered around each other in a semi-circle in their computer room—watched the program intently, as they all awaited Jimmy's response.

"…Yes Aria, patch him through, if you would please. Thank you." Jimmy replied surprisingly soberly. His program was already fast at work trying to complete its task.

* * *

><p>Ryan sped through the shambled streets of the once-beautiful Retroville. The place was a mess. Fires burned from every which way, and buildings—<em>entire<em> buildings—had been demolished, as the ruble of the typical town was strewn across the tattered remains of the city streets. Surprisingly though, even through all of this mayhem, the sun was still shining—_brightly_—in the midday sky.

The pavement was uneven—_very _uneven—and the ride was rough and very rugged. Ryan's bike was taking a beating just trying to get to his destination, and the fighting—that is, if there was even going to be any fighting—hadn't even started yet. The force-flex tires on his vehicle could handle the uneven road, though, and he was not worried in the least about his bike's capabilities. He _knew _that it could handle the rough ride.

He continued to speed through the ruined city streets, his general attitude of urgency and carelessness quite apparent. His speed continued to build, conversely, just as his concern for his own well-being grew less-and-less and began to diminish. He had to reach his objective. He had to do whatever it took to do that; he had to do all he could to help. These monsters hadn't only managed to make Lucy angry. As he rode through town, and as he witnessed more and more of the creatures' destruction and their path of carnage, he grew more and more angry. They, by now, had become his only thought.

He wanted nothing more than to snap a few attacking alien necks of his own. He glanced in his left driver-side mirror, and he quickly picked up the outline of Jake's hoverbike, as it continued to speed forward. Lucy was certainly not wasting any time either. She was currently 100 feet overhead, and her own speed increased in proportion to her counterpart on the ground. Ryan was thankful that she had actually managed to get the bike of the ground. The added air support would be very helpful indeed. Ryan looked up, and Lucy looked straight ahead. Through both of their black visors, they saw more of their enemies' ships speed forward, still heading straight for downtown. '_Where the hell are they all going in such a rush?_' Ryan thought to himself. Lucy had thoughts of her own.

'_You better HOPE that I don't catch you!_' she said silently, and angrily, to herself, as her vehicle sped after the alien invaders. Her speed was mind-shattering. She wasn't traveling nearly as fast as Jenny had been earlier—not that she actually could go that fast; Jake's bike had some limitations. Although, if she could have done so, she would have gladly disregarded her own safety and engaged some graviton boosters of her own.

She wanted nothing more than to stop the speeding aliens that were in front to her—_before_ they could do any more damage…or hurt anyone else. She continued to follow Ryan, who was well below her on street level, as he shot forward. His bike belted forward with intent and determination. He had a target, a destination, an objective; they _both_ did.

She eyed him, as her view shifted from in front of her, to around her vehicle, to where Ryan was currently heading. She constantly switched her view between these three vantage points; she _had_ to do this, in order to know what was coming. Being the one in the air, she was the biggest target, and she knew it. She accepted this, though, and she knew if any one of those of ships wanted to take her on, they'd have a _big_ fight on their hands. The two teenagers continued to speed through the city. Just as their speed increased, so did their awareness.

As they passed by the ruined and demolished buildings around them, the scene of carnage grew more and more gruesome. Eventually, the two teens passed by the local Retroville Mall, and there, in the main plaza of the shopping center, was a terrible, sickeningly shocking sight. Strewn across the property were bodies—_human_ bodies. They were _obviously_ no longer members of the world of the living. Lucy's knuckles grew red and then white as she griped the handlebars of the hover bike tighter and tighter in rage—_pure_ uncontrollable rage. She immediately blamed herself for not stopping this rampage—this _slaughter_. The two teens sped by the spot of the alien victory, not thinking twice about slowing their speed. They _badly_ wanted to help the people in the plaza, but they _knew_ that _nothing_ could be done to save them. They were already gone—already lost. They raced forwards, in the hopes that they would be able to stop another genocide, like the one that had just witnessed, from happening. They hoped that they would able to save innocent people—people who still had a chance of being saved—if they reached their objective in time.

They continued to zoom forward, unseeing and blinded by rage—red-hot, unstoppable, uncontrollable, unchained rage. This rage was a product of the _hatred_ that they felt for their new enemies—enemies who, after being on planet Earth for not even a full hour, had managed to almost completely destroy the town that they loved and kill countless _innocent_ humans. They were _angry_, but they were upset the most, at their inability to stop this unfortunate destruction from happening. They two continued towards the Retroville downtown area, and as they did so, something caught their eyes—_both_ of their eyes.

Down at the end of the street that they were currently traveling, was ruined and semi-demolished building—a store of some sort. This building was not what caught their attention, however, as out of the corner of the ruble, walked a child—a young little human girl. She was scared, _obviously_ scared, as tears of pain and horror ran down her pretty face. She was limping, as she walked to the corner of the street. The two teens, without a single word being voiced or exchanged simultaneously, as if completely by instinct, slowed their vehicles, until both bikes came to complete stop.

Their vehicles were some feet in front of the building. Lucy still hovered some feet above the ground. She slowly began to descend, and when the bike had come to a complete stop, resting its large metal body on the pavement, Lucy dismounted the vehicle and stood next to the other teen, who had just moments before, dismounted his own bike. The two teens removed their helmets and rested them gingerly on top of their bikes, as they slowly, tenderly, began to approach the small child. She appeared to be about the age of four or five, and she was adorable, but the tears that were on her face, along with her slight limp broke both Ryan and Lucy's heart. The girl was about to fall—not being able to sustain a constant walking pace with her current limp—and, right before she hit the ground, a pair of strong arms caught her.

The girl with light strawberry hair looked into a pair of hazel eyes as she broke down and began to sob torrents of tears into Ryan's shirt. Ryan was shocked at first, but he soon adjusted to the girl, and he began to hug her back. She felt like she _really_ needed the hug, and Ryan tightened his embrace as her crying reached violent proportions. Lucy stood behind the two embracing humans, in clear view of Ryan's face, and she openly smiled at his kindness and his ability to comfort the girl. Ryan saw her change in facial expression, and he returned the favor. It felt good to _something_ to help _somebody_ in all of this chaos—in all of this _carnage_.

Finally the girl loosened her grip, and Ryan slowly let her go. She stumbled backwards, and Ryan helped to steady her, so she did not fall. That limp was going to be real problem for her. She still had a few tears present on her pretty face, and Ryan wiped them away for her. She smiled up at the boy with the spiked-up hair. He smiled back; she reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place the name. Finally, it clicked: she looked a lot Emily Wheezer, the girl that he had babysat on so many occasions before.

Then without warning, something snapped inside him; remembering that Emily was still out there, _somewhere_ in all of this _destruction_, made his emotional state change from happiness to anger. '_How could those… …Those MONSTERS do this to s small, defenseless CHILD?_' Ryan thought to himself. '_I mean, attacking Human SOLDIERS was one thing; they were prepared for this kind of thing, but attacking INNOCENT INFANTS?_' he, once again, thought to himself, and this time he was _adamantly _angry.

Just then, as he was thinking of soldiers, Ryan remembered something: '_…And just where the hell IS the MILITARY?_' he thought, as once again, things were not seeming to go his way. However, at that very moment, his thoughts—or at least the _last_ one—were addressed. Ryan looked up, to see a group of fighter jets—a _mix_ of American, Canadian, and British jets—zoom by overhead. '_It's ABOUT DAMN TIME!_' Ryan thought, finally feeling a little relieved.

Ryan turned his attention back to the small girl in front of him who appeared to be injured. She smiled at him. He smiled back; she was very adorable when she wasn't crying. Ryan was happy that she was no longer shedding tears. He took the chance to ask the girl some questions.

"Hi there." Ryan said, smiling at her.

"Hi." the girl smiled back. At least the carnage of the situation had not _fully_ affected her; Ryan and Lucy were happy for this.

"My name's Ryan. What's your name?" he inquired. The girl looked at him with a puzzled and endearing expression.

"…" She did not respond. Lucy looked at the girl with as sweet an expression as she could muster in the current situation.

"…_Um_…" Ryan said, not sure what to say next.

The girl giggled at his confusion. "My mommy told me _never_ to talk to strangers." she explained her actions.

Ryan and Lucy both smiled at her innocence. '_And just where is her mother?_' the two teens thought, at the _exact_ same time. They looked up at each other, but they decided _not_ to ask the girl about her mother—at least not _yet_. The two teens looked at each other for another second, both silently deciding to put their concerns about the girl's mother on the back-burner of their minds. They returned their gaze to the girl, who now looked somewhat confused.

"So, your mom told you not to talk to strangers, huh?" Lucy asked her.

"Mhhhmm!" the girl responded, proud at the fact the she was following orders so well.

"Well, that's _really_ good advice, and aren't _you_ a smart cookie for listening so well?" Ryan praised the girl. She beamed at his compliment. Lucy looked over at him, slightly stunned. She had no idea that Ryan was so good with female toddlers. He did not catch her gaze.

"…_Well_, _we're_ not strangers…" Lucy trailed off, trying to get the girl to warm-up to them.

The girl looked up at her, as if deep in thought, and she finally decided something. "…_Well_, I _guess_ he's not a stranger." the girl said, pointing to Ryan. "_But_ I don't even know your _name_!" the girl finished, pointing at Lucy. Lucy looked slightly shocked; the girl was right. '_How could I have forgotten to introduce myself?_' she chastised herself. Ryan chuckled at the girl's perceptiveness.

"_Oh_! Well, I'm so sorry about that! I'm Lucy." she responded, smiling at the young girl.

The girl looked at her closely, and titled her head to one side, as if making yet another important decision. '_Hmm, now where have I seen that before?_' Lucy thought to herself, remembering her first encounter with her boyfriend. The girl seemed to finally come to a decision.

"You're pretty." the girl commented.

"Awww, well thank you, but I'm not nearly as pretty as _you_." Lucy replied quickly, flattered by this sweet girl's comment. The girl blushed at Lucy's response.

"…_Thanks_…" the girl responded, still blushing.

"Well, now that no one's a stranger to anyone anymore, what's say we all be friends." Ryan said, smiling at the girl and extending his hand.

The girl eyed it closely, before shaking his hand eagerly. "Okay!" Lucy chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"_So_, what's _your_ name?" Lucy asked her in the most sincere tone that she could muster.

"Huh? _Oh_! I'm Rachel!" the girl beamed.

"Haha, and just how old are you Miss Rachel?" Ryan inquired, still looking at her endearingly. Lucy looked at him, once again slightly stunned. He was _really_ good with her.

She, once again looked deep-in-thought. She held out her hand, and she began to count the fingers on her left hand. Finally she had come to the answer she sought, and she responded eagerly. "I'm this many!" she exclaimed, holding up all five fingers on her left hand. Ryan chuckled at her quick deduction.

"Wow, _five_ years old? You're a big girl then, aren't you?" Ryan responded to her answer

"Yup!" the girl responded eagerly.

Lucy and Ryan quickly looked at each other, and they nodded; it was time—time to ask. They turned their gaze back to the young girl.

"_So_, Rachel, where _is_ your mommy?" Lucy asked.

Rachel looked up at her, somewhat surprised. Then, without warning, the young girl burst into tears. Lucy ran to the little girl and wrapped her in her arms. '_NO!_' Lucy thought to herself. It was just as she thought. Those _monsters_ had done _something_ to her mother. She only hoped that there was still a chance that her mother could be saved. This girl didn't deserve this; _no one_ deserved this.

"Oh, honey, it's okay. I'm _so_ sorry. I didn't mean…Mean to—" Lucy started to comfort the crying girl, but Rachel pulled away and quickly dried her eyes.

"_NO!_" she shouted.

Ryan and Lucy looked shocked and confused. They exchanged glances and quickly returned their stares to the emotionally unstable five-year-old in front of them.

"Don't _you_ apologize! It's not _your_ fault!" Rachel screamed. She was, once again, on the verge of tears. Lucy grabbed her in another comforting embrace, and she quietly calmed the child down.

Rachel pulled away once again, but this time, she was more composed and ready to explain.

"Th-Th-The _Mo-Mons-MONSTERS_ took her!" Rachel stuttered out, a residual effect of the intense crying outburst that girl had moments ago.

Lucy and Ryan raised an eyebrow, but they did not question her anymore; they knew what "monsters" the girl was referring to.

"Rachel, honey, listen, I need you to tell us _exactly_ where you those monsters, okay?" Lucy addressed the girl.

Rachel did not have to think too hard about it, though. The girl's eyes went wide, and she pointed out in front of her to something behind the two teens, and she was shaking and on the verge of tears, yet again. She struggled to get something out of her mouth but she chocked on her own words—she chocked on her own _fear_.

"Rachel, what's wrong sweetie?" Lucy asked.

Rachel finally got out what she trying to say: "_THE MONSTERS!_"

The two teens whirled around to find a group of thirteen alien soldiers, all clad in the same armor as their comrades who lay dead in the parking lot. Ryan and Lucy's rage soared to new heights, and they drew both of their warp pistols and quickly took aim at their dastardly enemies. Rachel, however, was not so calm and level-headed.

"_NO!_ They'll get you too! I don't want you to get hurt!" she pleaded with the two teenagers that she had just made friends with. She tugged at Ryan's sleeve.

Ryan turned his head and addressed the girl, briefly, before turning back to his opponents. "Listen, honey, we'll be _fine_. I _promise_. Just make sure that you stay _behind_ us at _all_ times, okay?" Ryan requested. The girl reluctantly nodded and retreated behind her two teenage protectors.

The two teens took aim at the group of alien troopers, who by this point had drawn their own weapons, and a look of _severe_ _rage_ and _determination_ crossed their faces. "I think it's time for some payback. What do you say, Luce?" he asked.

"Agreed." she responded somberly, venomous rage filling every corner of her voice. The two teens prepared to avenge the carnage, the _slaughter_, of _their_ species, with a _slaughter_ of the aliens' species.

* * *

><p>Aria's face faded from view, and in her place, a man's face appeared on the wall panel. The man was obviously overweight and worn-down by life itself. By the looks of it, he was <em>at least<em> five years older than Jimmy and Cindy, and he was marginally less attractive than either of them. He looked worried, more so than either Cindy, _or_ Jimmy, and this was _very_ strange indeed. It was also very bad that he looked so worried, seeing as he was The United States Secretary Of Defense. He also looked _extremely _exhausted, as the bags under his eyes suggested that he hadn't slept in _days_. He finally addressed the family of four in front of him.

"Good to see you all. …_Although_ I wish that the _circumstances_ for having to see you were different." Secretary Roamer said.

"Of course, sir. I think that we _all_ feel that way." Jimmy responded. Roamer just nodded in response.

"Nice to see you Jennifer, Jacob, Mrs. Vortex, _Neutron_." Roamer said, looking at the corresponding person as he spoke, nodding his head at each, and saying Jimmy's name with _dire_ urgency. They all nodded back in response.

"It's good to see you as well, Secretary Roamer." Cindy responded. She, besides Jimmy of course, was the only one to directly address the secretary on the screen. He nodded in response.

"Well, sir, I suppose that you got my message." Jimmy said. Cindy looked at him inquisitively. '_Message? What message? When had he had the time to send him a message?_' Cindy wondered silently to herself.

Jimmy saw her gaze, but he ignored it as his conversation with the Secretary continued.

"Yes, Neutron, and I'll admit—even for _you_—having a civilian call in the Emergency Contingency Code was a brilliant idea." Roamer praised Jimmy's actions. Cindy's inquisitive look faded, and she finally understood. What he had told Resa to tell the 911 Operator was the "Emergency Contingency Code."

"Yes, well sir, I only figured that if I called it in from my house, then The Proxians would trace it. …And track it _quickly_, mind you." Roamer nodded in response, but then, after a sudden double-take, he registered something in Jimmy's statement that he had not previously picked up.

"…_Wait_! Did you just say The _PROX_?" Roamer asked, incredulously.

Jimmy simply nodded solemnly. Just as Secretary Roamer was about to respond, the front door of the their house flung itself open, and a group of eight people walked into the main hallway, which was completely visible from the computer room that the family was currently located in. The family of four peered into the hallway to see eight people approaching them: Carl, who held Emily; Resa, who held Aaron; Libby, who held her daughter's hand; Sheen; and Eric. Three members of the family rushed to, and greeted, their friends with eager happiness, while Jimmy remained behind, in order to complete his conversation with Secretary Roamer.

The noisy and joyful greetings quieted down, as Jimmy raised a hand to the eleven people in the hallway. He was serious; they all took heed of this and substantially lowered their volume, as they listened in to Jimmy's conversation.

"…But, Neutron, _you_ said that—" Secretary Roamer was cut-off by a regretful Jimmy.

"I _know_ what I said, sir. I was _wrong_." Jimmy admitted. _Everyone_ who was in the hallway raised an eyebrow at Jimmy's comment. Jimmy was wrong? That hadn't happened since they were kids. '_Guess it's just like old times…_' the group of five adult friends thought—_all_ at the same time, all _except_ for Resa, who was simply shocked at the fact that Jimmy could _ever _be wrong. But, then, what was he so wrong about?

**A/N: Jimmy Is WRONG? That CAN'T be good! Poor little Rachel! Those aliens are NASTY little pests, aren't they (hope I did a good job of creating a REALLY HATED enemy, so PLEASE let me know about that). Ryan and Lucy are in some HOT water, aren't they? But, then again, they actually seem rather HAPPY to be able to get some revenge, huh? There is one way to address all of these concerns: stay tuned for the next update. Please, please, R&R! …OH, and please don't forget to check out the related "_GTNG Ongoing OneShots_!**


	7. The HellFire Contingency

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron, or anything affiliated with said franchise.**

**Accolades/Appreciation: Thanks for all my AWESOME readers/reviewers of this story, for your favorites, subscriptions, reviews, feedback, and generally awesome comments! ONWARD! …And, don't forget to check-out those OneShots!**

**VII. The Hell-Fire Contingency**

The eleven people in the hallway were silent, and their banter had died down completely, as Jimmy continued his conversation with Secretary Roamer. They could not believe what they had just heard. Jimmy had been wrong before—on _very few_ occasions, but nonetheless, he had been wrong. However, no matter how wrong he had been, he had _never_ admitted it, and he had always managed to correct his mistake without even hinting at the fact that he was mistaken in the first place.

But now it seemed as if _something_—something very dire—had grabbed his attention more so than ever before. Whatever this new threat was, it required him to admit his mistake—whatever his mistake was—in order to fix it. The fact that he actually had to admit his mistake, though, meant one thing: it was such a big mistake, such a large blunder, that if not addressed, it could cost his friends _everything_.

They all stood there, a mixture of shock, awe, and irony crossing their facial features. The eleven friends had not even had proper time to greet or welcome each other; they were now too engrossed in what Jimmy had to say—and what the Secretary had to respond with—to talk to each other. Cindy watched her husband intently. She had no idea what was going on, and that gave her a _very_ uneasy feeling. She was filled with emotions, with _many_ emotions, that she had a hard time deciphering or sorting out.

She was angry. Her anger came from the fact that her husband, even after _all_ that they been through together, did not tell her what was going on. She was hurt. She was hurt by the implication that Jimmy had made: that she could not be trusted with the information that she so desperately sought. She was sad, sad that she might actually have to agree to use "_Protocol: Danger Close_," and as such, lose the only house that she had invested in emotionally—_their_ house, the house that they had raised their children in. She was anxious.

Her anxiety was skyrocketing and increasing with every passing second, but she kept it completely under control, as she had done on so many occasions before; she was good at that, good at controlling her emotions—good at controlling them, all _except_ for her rage. One thing that she was _not_, however, was afraid. Cynthia Vortex was _never_ afraid; fear was a useless emotion, and she had realized and accepted that fact a long time ago.

She had let go of any amount of fear that may have existed inside of her quite some time ago—when she had been tortured and beaten beyond comprehension, beyond her limits. It happened when she was a captive, _his _captive. She remembered when she had been taken, taken by Eustace Strych. It was an attempt to hurt Jimmy—and it did, hurt him more than she would ever know—to make him angry, to make him feel the "pain" that Strych had felt so many times in the past, and she had endured things that would have broken a well-trained marine. She had pushed herself beyond her very limits, and the moment she broke her limits, she realized that she no longer had any limits.

She believed that Jimmy hated her very being, and she was terribly surprised when he risked everything to save her. The fourteen-year-old blonde girl had almost all of her bones broken, and her face was stained with her own blood, but to Jimmy she was still the most beautiful girl in the world (although, at that time in his life, he would _never_ have admitted that to her). She was thankful that Jimmy had come to save her (although she hated that she couldn't save herself, and the fact that she must have looked weak to him, made her sick). Although she couldn't wait to return home to Retroville, she didn't leave immediately; she stayed behind, behind in the cold. The cold Arctic air had become a normality to her, in the time she spent as his captive.

She stayed behind to make _him_ pay, to make Eustace pay. When she was finished with him, he truly wished that he was dead; he looked worse than she did after her torture. But, instead of embracing a welcome death like he would have liked, he was tossed in an international penitentiary, the first of its kind—a prison dedicated to containing the world's most notorious wrong-doers, such as Eustace Strych. He was kept under lock-and-key, watched and guarded by expertly-trained soldiers from almost every country around the globe. The moment that his own imprisonment had started, he finally realized what he had done to Cindy, but instead of thinking about apologizing, he began to think of _revenge_.

Cindy eyed Jimmy seriously, her mind adrift. She turned around and briefly scanned the hallway behind her. The corridor was filled with her closest friends, friends from her childhood, friends that never left her side, friends that had been on so many adventures with her. They all wore a very readable expression. Some had anxiety and worry painted on his or her face, others had sadness, while others, still, such as Resa, looked confused and frustrated at being kept in the dark. Cindy did a quick assessment of her friends' locations, their expressions, and their demeanor.

Sheen was holding his daughter's hand. Cindy smiled at this. Sheen, surprisingly, had become an excellent father, to both of his children, and although everyone wished that he had not passed on his obsession over Ultra Lord to his daughter, he was very protective over Sam. Sheen loved his son as well, but he simply saw Sam as his little girl, and he refused to let that image go. He allowed his son, however, to take far more risks. Thus, giving Eric a middle name, based on a notorious Columbian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, seemed to be "wise" decision, according to Sheen.

Libby was a little clueless about where Sheen had picked that name up, thinking that it was an Estevez family name; however, when she found out that Sheen had named their son after a murderous Drug Lord, she "let Sheen have it." After realizing this, Libby put herself in charge of naming their second child, regardless of his or her gender. Thus Sam's middle name, Liberty, was an obvious one with obvious origins.

Eric and Libby were right next to Sheen and Sam. Cindy continued her panoramic glance around the long hallway. Carl and his family were huddled together next to Eric and Libby. Carl was holding his daughter—and Emily was scanning the room just as Cindy was—and just as she looked at Emily, their eyes met. Emily smiled at Cindy, and the blonde returned the favor. Emily was so sweet and sincere, that it was almost impossible to resist her charm. Everyone loved her, and that went double for her Aunt Cindy. Cindy loved the six-year-old; Cindy continued smiling at the redhead, until Emily turned away and continued looking around the room.

Cindy took this as her cue to continue scanning the room herself, and she turned her attention to Resa who was holding Aaron. Resa saw her reaction, and smiled half-heartedly at her friend, and Cindy returned the gesture, but she could easily see the discomfort and stress on Resa's face. She couldn't blame her for that, though; she knew exactly why she felt like that. Aaron was tuned around, facing the opposite direction that Cindy was standing, so she didn't have a chance to see his face, which made her a little sad. Aaron and Emily were the youngest members of the next generation, and they reminded Cindy so much of when her own children were that age.

Although she missed seeing Aaron's face, she still turned away from Resa, turning her attention to the last person in the hallway: Goddard. The mechanical canine—although though he was all machine—wore a _very_ human-like expression—an expression of confusion. The dog caught Cindy's glace and he tilted his head to one side, as he looked at his female master. Cindy smiled at the dog, and she finished her look around the hallway. As she completed her look around the hallway, she returned her gaze to her husband, and resumed her expression of confusion and anticipation. She was angry that he had not told her what was going on beforehand, but she was happy about the fact that, at least now, she would _finally_ find out what on earth was happening.

Jimmy could feel the eleven eyes on him, and their intense stares burned through his back. Although he felt slightly uncomfortable, he did not even acknowledge their presence. He did not turn around once, and he had not even greeted his friends. He wanted to welcome them to his home, but he couldn't; he didn't have any time to do that. He was far too preoccupied with his conversation with his "_boss_," Secretary Of Defense Jason Roamer. He looked intently at the man's face on the wall-panel screen, and he waited for the secretary's response.

Secretary of Defense, Jason Leon Roamer, was an aged man—not overly aged, but he was quite up there in numbers; however, his common sense and intelligence matched his age to no end. In fact, he was so smart that he could even hold an in-depth conversation with Jimmy or Cindy for an extended period of time, and that was impressive, seeing as they were, undoubtedly, two of the smartest humans on the planet.

But now, in the current dire and odd circumstances, he fell silent, unsure of how to respond, and this was terrible sign. The United States Secretary of Defense should _always _have a response ready, or at least, be able to formulate one quickly, and usually Jason Roamer did just that, but today he did not. Today he was obviously more stunned and taken-aback than he had been in his entire career, and that was very disconcerting. Jimmy understood his reaction, though, and he gave the secretary the appropriate amount of time to formulate a verbal response. Jimmy waited patiently for Roamer's reply.

"…_Wrong_?" Roamer addressed the genius before him.

Jimmy realized that he was, once again, about to admit that he had blundered, and although he hated that, he saw no way around it. "Yes sir. My previous assumptions were incorrect. The Proxians have found Earth, and they have made it a target." Jimmy responded. The eleven humans behind him listened intently to every word that was exchanged between Jimmy and the secretary, never missing a beat. They wanted information, and while they were sure that Jimmy would fill them in when he was finished talking, they couldn't help but speculate and ask themselves questions.

Roamer arched and eyebrow at Jimmy's comment, and he began to sweat a little, which was never a good sign. "…But, Neutron, _you_ said that they would _never_—in a million evolutionary years even—attack Earth. You said that it would be a, and I quote: '_A waste of their time_.'" Roamer replied, eyeing the blue-eyed genius seriously. Jimmy felt somewhat chagrinned at his comment, but he knew that the secretary was right. That was _exactly_ what Jimmy had told him. But he had been wrong, and Jimmy was _never_ wrong, or at least, so the secretary thought. In fact, Jimmy's low chances at _ever_ being wrong was a key reason that the Department of Defense had hired or used him as a consultant so often—that and the fact that he had prevented global disasters on so many occasions before.

Jimmy sighed deeply and responded to the awaiting man on the screen. "I realize what I said sir, but as it seems, I was wrong. …_Very_ wrong. I apologize for that unavoidable fact, but it is true." Jimmy stated his apology serious and well-thought-out.

Roamer looked at him for few moments, an expression of sorrow, disappointment, anger, and pity crossing his aged face. At seeing his face contort with these many emotions, all of whom aimed directly at him, Jimmy shrunk back slightly and lowered his head, so as to not look directly into Roamer's judging eyes. After a few moments of this intense stare-down, however, the secretary's gaze loosened and his expression became much more light-hearted. "Neutron, the reason that we hired you is because you don't make mistakes." Roamer started, jokingly, but he was unable to finish his statement, when Jimmy interrupted him.

Jimmy heard the joking manner in which his boss had addressed him; however, he had paid no mind to it, and assumed that the secretary was _genuinely _angry at him. "…I _know_ sir, and I am terribly and deeply sorry about that, however, we—" Jimmy's explanation and apology were cut short when the secretary finally finished his statement.

"…_However_, it is known that _everyone_—no matter how intelligent or experienced that person may be—makes mistakes, and _that_ includes you too, Neutron. Don't beat yourself up about it. There is a first time for everything, after all. It is only natural; it's what makes us all human." Roamer finished, seeming to truly understand Jimmy's position and relate to him. Jimmy was thankful for this and for the secretary's light-hearted demeanor, until Jimmy picked-up on something that the secretary had said, something that rang with a surprising and shocking air of finality and truth.

Jimmy looked directly at roamer as he said his next words, seriousness and intent clear on his face. "Yes, sir, I realize that. …Unfortunately, though, that human tendency to make mistakes could easily cost us our planet because, in case you don't recall, our new enemies are _not_ human, and they do not make mistakes." Jimmy stated in an incredibly sobering voice.

The secretary looked intently at the genius and he pondered what Jimmy had said for a few moments, before responding. "There you go again. You're on a roll today aren't you, Neutron?" Roamer questioned his subordinate.

Jimmy felt somewhat puzzled, although he did not show it on his face. He made a habit of never showing any sign of weakness or confusion, especially on his face. "…What, exactly, do you mean by that sir?" Jimmy questioned the secretary.

"What I mean is: you're two for two. I know that there is a first time for everything, but I've _never_ seen the first time _and_ the _second_ time happen is such proximity to each other. You're wrong _again_." the secretary finished.

Jimmy raised an eyebrow at his comment. "…And, just what, _exactly_, am I '_wrong_' about this time, sir?" Jimmy inquired, genuinely curious.

"You said that our new enemies don't make mistakes, when in fact they've already made one very grave mistake." Roamer responded, looking like knew something that Jimmy didn't—which was highly unlikely, because James Isaac Neutron knew almost everything that there was to know.

Jimmy, once again, felt slightly confused, but he hid it well on his facial features. "…And, just what, might I ask, is this so-called '_mistake_' that they have made?" Jimmy asked, wanting a real answer.

"They came to Earth." the secretary responded simply. Jimmy finally understood what he meant. Jimmy had to admit that it was a clever play-on-words that Roamer had used and good attempt at a battle-cry, but the truth or fact of his words had little effect—primarily because they _weren't_ true, and _both_ Jimmy and Roamer knew this. Their enemies had not made much of a mistake in coming to Earth; the Human race was little, if any, challenge for them at all for them to defeat, especially in combat. It was an unfortunate, but all-to-true fact.

"…Yes, well…" Jimmy trailed off, not exactly sure of how to respond.

"…_Anyways_… What do you have on the current situation?" Roamer asked of the genius.

Jimmy looked directly the older man and addressed him with one word, unsure of what, exactly, the secretary was asking him to do. "…_Sir_…?" Jimmy replied, unsure of what his boss's vague request truly was, and thusly asking him to clarify it.

"What information do you have on the current situation, circumstances, or contingencies? I need facts. I need to know about the troop deployments—both friendly and hostile—, weapon systems, suit analysis or scans, casualties, and most importantly, _time_. Is there _time_?" the secretary explained, eyeing Neutron with an expecting look. Jimmy processed everything that the secretary had said, and he was quickly ready with a few responses for him.

"Well sir, to answer your first few questions: …After doing some intense research, and running _many_ scans, an analysis, and some simulations, I have concluded a few things." Jimmy said proudly.

Roamer arched a brow as he looked straight into the genius's eyes, waiting for him to continue, but apparently, Jimmy was waiting for the secretary to _ask_ him to continue, and thus, so he did. "…And those results or conclusions would be…?" Roamer asked, getting to the point.

Jimmy responded quickly with his ready response. "They have been on Earth, _physically_ at least, for a little under an hour. They have attacked three of our five _'Superior Structure Sites_ _Cities_.' They have deployed—or at least, so it seems as of right now—_only_ scouts to the surrounding areas, and it appears that _only_ their sentinel ships have breached our atmosphere. Their larger, more destructive, Carrier Ships have not yet been spotted in our direct orbit; however, scans and sightings, both with my telescope and my '_Neutron-O'-Scope_.' have detected a large number of Proxian Carrier Sips on their way to Earth. They are on their way, and it seems the exact number of ships in this group of vessels implies that it is a _fleet_ of Proxian ships that is heading right for Earth. As of right now, I can detect no other vessels approaching us from _any_ direction, but that does not mean that they are not coming. Their technology surpasses and eclipses even my own inventions, and as such, my detection methods may be sub-par. That being said, it should be noted that what I am seeing, or detecting, may be _only_ what _they want_ me to see or detect." Jimmy finished his lengthy briefing.

"…I see. …And what about their weapons and armor?" the secretary questioned.

"Their weapons consist of an advanced arsenal of direct-energy weapons—weapons that fire at _extremely_ high temperatures. Their armor appears to serve two functions. It serves as an aegis agent, and also as an assistance agent. Their armor has a uniformed color-scheme, one that is matched by the color scheme on all of their ships—big _or_ small. These colors—jet black with a hint of silver—appears to be the general colors of their armies or of their race, in general. Their armor is one that is a full-body model, and the material that is made out of appears to consist mostly of highly-durable and very malleable alloys. It is vulnerable to extremely high heat, and to very swift-piercing materials—such as '_Singed S.L.A.P. Rounds_.' Their aircrafts make our own seem outdated and obviously obsolete; however, there is one major drawback to their ship designs: they need to come to a _complete_ stop, in order to drop-off or pick-up soldiers, whereas _our_ _own_ aircraft can deploy troops to the active theatre of war, _without_ stopping—such as deploying paratroopers. That puts them at a _serious_ disadvantage in instances of reinforcements, or evacuations, making them very vulnerable during the time that they have to deploy or pick-up ground forces." Jimmy answered.

The secretary nodded solemnly. He had completely ceased his comical tone and expression. He was entirely serious, and as he responded, it was obvious just how serious he was. "…And just what do you mean by their armor serving _two_ purposes—an '_Aegis Agent_,' and an '_Assistance Agent_?'" Roamer asked, and Jimmy was equally ready to answer.

"Well, sir, you know very well that the primary function of _any _armor is to _protect_ to user, hence the term '_Aegis_' Agent—aegis being synonymous with shield. However, _these_ battle-suits, the ones that the Proxian troops use, seem to serve a _second _purpose as well. It not _only_ protects its user, but it _also_ increases the user's ability to _kill_. The Proxians' suits have neural links built into the spinal section of the suit. These links insert themselves into to user's spine, and as such, the user can control the suit simply by thinking of what they want the suit to do. Not only does the suit make itself easier to control, but it also increases the user's physical prowess. It increases their speed, strength, dexterity, agility, reflexes, and eyesight—_all_ by a factor of _ten_." Jimmy finished.

The secretary raised an eyebrow. "…So, let me get this straight. …These alien invaders—which, by the way, are stronger than the average human soldier, when they're _not_ wearing their armor—have battle-suits that can, and do, increase not only their strength, but _everything_ about their combat skills?"

Jimmy saw his point. It was nowhere near good odds, but then, they both knew that fact before the conversation had stared. "…_Yes_ sir. …Unfortunately, this is what the data suggests and points to." Jimmy replied uneasily. Cindy cringed at his uneasiness.

The secretary sighed deeply at Jimmy's response. "…And you said that they have attacked _three_ of our _five_ '_Structure Sites_.' What cities, _exactly_, did they assault?" Roamer inquired.

"They have attacked—and, by this point, probably invaded as well—the following '_Structure Site_' Cities: London, New York, and Tokyo." Jimmy replied.

The secretary looked somewhat relieved at hearing this new information. "So they have not yet attacked Moscow, or Berlin?" The secretary asked, in what seemed to be a hopeful tone.

"No sir. …Well, not _yet_, at least." Jimmy replied.

Roamer nodded. "Ah, I see." was all the only response he uttered.

Jimmy took the brief break in the conversation to address the secretary, who was obviously thinking and formulating a plan. "…_Well_ sir… …What do you intend to do?" Jimmy asked.

The secretary looked up from the floor that he was currently starring at, and he eyed Jimmy intently. "What do you suggest, Neutron?" this was the question that Jimmy was waiting for. He was at his best when he giving-out ideas, not receiving them. He served the Department of Defense best, by advising them.

"_Well_ sir, I, personally speaking of course, would do the following: contact the UN, and arrange a meeting with _all _of the other heads-of-state—and do so as quickly as possible—get _all_ of the other human governments on the same page, devise a plan of attack and battle plan for the response to the invasion. …And, most importantly, I would initiate The '_Hell-Fire Contingency_.'" Jimmy suggested.

The secretary nodded, once again, and replied to the resident genius. "…And what would you suggest, regarding the '_E.P.P. Shield_?'" Roamer inquired.

"Activate it. Activate it _immediately_." Jimmy replied—almost too quickly.

"Very well then. Thank you for your cooperation, and I appreciate your input Neutron, as I always do. Stay safe, _all_ of you," the secretary addressed all twelve of the Humans in the house, "stay safe. Good luck Neutron, and hopefully, I'll see you after all of this is over." the secretary said, and just as quickly as he had come on to the screen, he disappeared. Aria's holographic face now reappeared on the view screen.

"Aria, please note: The '_Hell-Fire Contingency_' is now in effect." Jimmy said truthfully.

* * *

><p>Ryan looked into his opponents' jet-black vision visors, and although Ryan could not see his enemies' faces, he was sure what the expressions on their faces would look like—<em>if <em>he could see them. He would see no emotion, no anger, no fear, no sadness, no envy, no thrill of battle, and no remorse for what he—or she—and his—or her—comrades had just done: kill innocent human beings. The twelve other alien soldiers behind him all raised their weapons, and in flash just like before, a maelstrom of blue plasma came hurtling at the three humans.

Ryan went for his belt-generator, but it was no use. Lucy was faster, and her red energy shield appeared in front of them, before Ryan could even dispense an energy orb. The red shield that floated there, effortlessly, in midair separated the three humans from their alien enemies, and it protected them from the oncoming barrage of enemy fire. The wall of blue plasma hit the shield, and with a swift change in direction, it rebounded, now heading for the thirteen alien marauders who had initially fired the rounds. The searing-hot plasma made contact with the troopers, and immediately some were killed, as their own high-temperature rounds melted through their incredibly durable armor and disintegrated their bluish-blackish skin. Seven fell to the floor; four were dead.

Ryan and Lucy, both, took note of the new numbers of their enemies, and drew their own weapons, pointing their warp pistols directly at their opponents. Rachel, who was still tucked away, behind Ryan's protective figure, peeked around his pants leg and looked on in awe at the spectacle before her: two teenage humans were doing battle—and _winning_, at that—with a hostile alien army, a _very well-trained_ army. The little girl's mouth hung slightly agape at what she saw, but she did not say a word; she was far to shocked to speak. She just stood there, silently, and let her two protectors do what they had to do.

The remaining nine alien soldiers quickly got to their feet, and although they were not expecting that shield to pop out of nowhere, or to be hit with their own plasma rounds, they accepted what had just occurred, and they very quickly readjusted their statures and demeanors and prepared to return fire. Just as the aliens were about to fire, however, the leader of the group of alien soldiers put up a hand, and they all stopped in their tracks. He uttered some incoherent and confusing vocal and verbal commands to his soldiers, pointing at the shield and at the two human teenagers the entire time. His alien language and his guttural tone struck a sense of reality and realization into the two teens before him. He was apparently identifying the fact that shooting at the shield would, inevitably, rebound their own projectiles directly back at them.

He was now devising a plan and shouting it to his soldiers, out loud. '_My god, even their language sounds like it's a serial killer ranting…_' Ryan thought to himself, trying to figure out what the leader was informing his troops of. Then, without warning, the leader gave a swift hand signal, and the remaining nine aliens broke off. They all ran—with _incredible_ speed, agility, and effectiveness—in opposite directions, and finally, only four troops remained in front of the two teens. The others had fled so fast that Ryan and Lucy both had no idea what to do, and as a result, had not managed to fire on even a single one of the fleeing alien soldiers.

Ryan looked back at Rachel, and he quickly scooped her into his arms, and devised a plan of action. Ryan and Lucy both scrambled to get directly behind their energy shield, and they leaned against it; Rachel was finally placed on the ground by her older guardian, but she hadn't complained about being picked-up in the first place. The little girl then proceeded to lean on the shield as well, and she found that it was very warm; this warmth comforted her somewhat. Ryan looked around quickly, and he swiftly noticed that he could not locate any of the five aliens that had fled. He instantly had a bad feeling about this. He took note of his surroundings, and he quickly gauged that there were many alleyways and backstreets in this area, and the aliens could have easily decided to break-off to try to flank them.

Ryan looked at Rachel who was a few feet behind him, and he quickly realized that, if the five aliens attacked from the rear—as he assumed they would do—then Rachel would be their first target. He looked around, once again, and he spotted an alleyway that was a few feet from their current position, and to his direct left. He turned back to Rachel and addressed her in the most sincere tone that he could muster.

"Listen honey, I need you to go over there, and wait in the alley, okay? It's _way_ too dangerous over here right now. The monsters won't get you over there, okay? I promise, I'll keep my good eye," Ryan pointed to his "good" eye, "on you." he said sincerely, making his request clear. Lucy, who was some distance away, at the other end of the shield, eyed the two others and waited for Rachel's response.

The little girl giggled at Ryan's caring, corny, use of the term "good eye." She looked up at him, and she nodded. "Okay." she replied. Remembering that she had a limp, Ryan knew that he would have to carry her over to the alley, but he would be unable to do so without covering fire. He turned his gaze to Lucy, who was currently eyeing her four alien enemies that remained on the other side of the shield. She looked at them, weapons drawn, straight through the red tint of the shield. Somehow the red-colored effect that the shield gave the soldiers seemed to fit their behavior. Lucy turned her head ever so slightly and caught Ryan's pleading look.

"…_What_?" she questioned quickly.

"I'm going to carry Rachel over to the alley, but from their," Ryan gestured to the four aliens on the other side of the shield, "current vantage point, they have a clear shot at me. I need some cover." Ryan finished.

Lucy nodded at his plan and at his suggestion. "Okay, go. I'll cover you." she replied, cocking both of her weapons.

"...Are you sure, bec—" Ryan was interrupted by Lucy's adamant reply.

"Ryan, _GO_! I got you, I _promise_!" Lucy said, slightly agitated.

Ryan nodded, and he quickly made his way over to where Rachel was and gently scooped her up. He looked at her, as he held her in his arms. "You okay?" he asked the five-year-old.

"Mhmmm." she responded.

"How's that little leg of yours?" he asked.

Rachel looked down, and she looked as though she had to think about it a great deal before she responded. "It still hurts, but it only hurts _really _bad, if I try to walk on it too much." she replied.

Ryan nodded. "Okay, well _only_ walk or run, if you absolutely _have _to, okay?" he commanded.

Rachel nodded in response and agreement. Lucy peeked around the corner of the shield and got a lock on each of her four enemies. She then addressed Ryan, without ever taking her deathly-fatal gaze away from her enemies. "Ryan, _GO_! Go _NOW_!" she boomed, and he nodded in response.

He took off, swiftly sprinting, full-speed, towards his objective: towards the alley. Ryan left the protective area of the shield and the four aliens took note of this, as they raised their weapons at him and instinctively prepared to fire. As they did this, though, a barrage of red-hot plasma hit the four of them, and knocked three of them to the ground.

The one that remained standing quickly located the source of the enemy fire, and he returned fire at Lucy. The dark-haired teenager quickly ducked back behind the shield, just in time to avoid a scorching plasma burn. One of her enemies were dead, lying on the asphalt of the alleyway, completely lifeless, but the other two that had hit the ground quickly regained their composure and got back to their feet, weapons drawn and at the ready.

Lucy did a quick visual check on Ryan's location, and she saw that he had reached his destination. He was in the alley, and he was still holding Rachel. He gently set her down, and he leaned against the corner of the alleyway, preparing to make his quick return to the protective area behind the energy shield. He gingerly peeked around the side of the brick wall, and he saw that the three remaining aliens were completely and utterly focused on their _new_ target, Lucy, even though she was currently behind her shield, and thus unreachable to them.

Ryan tipped his two arms around the corner of the wall and fired both of his weapons at his enemies. The two streams of red-hot plasma came flying at—and past—the three aliens. The deadly stream connected with all three of the soldiers; however, only one was knocked to the ground. The one that was knocked to the ground was promptly killed. The other two now focused their energies and attentions on Ryan, apparently forgetting all about Lucy, who was still behind the shield.

The aliens fired a massive barrage of plasma at Ryan's location, and he ducked back behind the corner of the wall just in time, as the entire corner of the wall was demolished or melted—right in front of his face. The aliens continued firing, and as they continuously shot their jets of blazing blue fire, another jet of raging red fire hit them.

Lucy fired both of her pistols at her opponents. As she did so, making for a perfect distraction, Ryan ran back across the street to the protective area behind the shield. When he arrived, Lucy retreated back behind the shield, and checked her weapons. When she was finished with her current task, both of the teenagers turned around and looked through the shield at their once-living enemies. All four of their alien opponents were now promptly dead. Ryan nodded at Lucy, and she smirked in response.

"Thanks for the cover." he thanked her.

"Yeah, yeah. …_OH_, and thanks for ruining my perfect kill streak." she said sarcastically, as she gestured to her four dead enemies.

Ryan looked at her incredulously. "…_Well_, I'm _sorry_ for defending myself, and for saving my own life." he responded, equally as sarcastic.

Lucy looked straight at him and smirked, once again. "No problem. Apology accepted." she responded, surprisingly in a better mood than she had been. Apparently killing some aliens had a really good effect on her disposition. Ryan chuckled slightly at her reaction, and also at her response. Ryan then turned his gaze away from Lucy, and he quickly glanced at Rachel, who was currently kneeling down in the alleyway.

"Hey, Rachel, you okay?" he yelled to her.

She smiled and replied back, equally as loud, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Ryan looked through the red energy shield and surveyed their kill count. There, in front of them, directly through the energy shield, lay eight dead alien soldiers. Ryan and Lucy, both, felt somewhat relived that these monsters would bother no one else, but their relief was short-lived, when they began to think of all of the innocent people that were probably dying all around the globe, being hunted a slaughtered by unopposed—and almost unstoppable—enemies.

Ryan remembered that there were originally _thirteen_ alien soldiers in this group, _not _eight. He quickly remembered the group of five troopers that had veered off earlier, and he did a swift scan of his immediate surroundings. He did not catch a single clue as to their whereabouts. This left him a little worried, and he did not like being worried—not in the least. Something was coming, something bad. These creatures—these _aliens_—were smarter, _much_ smarter, than they appeared, and they were excellent soldiers. Ryan quickly gathered these two facts in his brain and made and assumption: whatever those five soldiers were going to do, it was going to be truly, _truly_, terrible.

* * *

><p>Sean sped forward, his car going the maximum speed that it would allow. His two friends in the car were slightly shaken-up by his recklessness, but given the situation, they let it slide. Besides, Lacey was used to the way her boyfriend drove when it was just the two of them in the car, and it was <em>exactly<em> like how he was driving now.

Collin was strapped into the backseat of the vehicle, and his face had no emotion on it, but he was clearly worried—worried about his sister. Sean continued to speed through the shambled streets of the once-peaceful Retroville, all the while alternating his view between the road in front, and the view in his rear view mirror. He scanned the road in front of him, along with the road behind him, and his mind was racing just as fast as his car was. Sean glanced quickly over to his girlfriend, taking a swift moment to examine her features, her expression, her emotions.

Even in the current circumstances, he could not help but admire how beautiful she was. Lacey caught his glance and turned her head to look at him. He turned his head back to the road, and he began to blush slightly. A sly smile crossed Lacey's face, but she quickly got rid of it, as she remembered the current circumstances that they were in. Collin observed the quick and silent exchange between the couple, and he smirked slightly at the light-hearted and shy actions of his two friends. Collin was the first to speak.

"So, where are we heading first?" he questioned the two in front.

Sean looked into his rear-view mirror and made direct eye contact with his friend as he responded to his question. "…Um, well, since your house is the closest, I suppose that we'll drop by there first. We'll drop you off, and then Lace, and myself, will head over to our street and take of business over there." Sean suggested. Lacey looked at him with an approving expression. Sean was happy for this. Usually Lacey was the fastest one on her feet—out of the three of them—and, although Sean, and not Lacey, was the one that had made the first suggestion, she seemed to agree with her boyfriend.

"…Alright. …I _guess_ that that sounds like the best idea, but you two better be _careful_, okay?" Collin cautioned his friends.

"Don't worry, Col, we'll be fine." Lacey replied to her worried friend.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but _still_, just be careful, okay?" Collin repeated his request.

Lacey and Sean, both looked at each other, and after a few moments of silence, they finally turned their attention back to Collin and responded to him. "…_Okay_, Collin. We promise. We'll be _fine_." Sean and Lacey both said in unison.

"Now, Collin, remember, when you get home, make sure and tell your parents _exactly_ what's going on, and don't waste _any_ time sticking around your house, because remember Ryan and Lucy are going to be waiting for us back at the Candy Bar. Also, grab anything that can be useful—_anything_ at _all_—that can be used to our advantage, things that we might need, such as: water, canned non-perishable food, knives, batteries, etc." Lacey ordered her friend, who was currently trying his hardest to keep up with her lengthy and detailed command.

Collin, after looking down at the floor for some time, finally looked up, and redirected his focus on his two friends, apparently finally done processing Lacey's command. "Okay Lace, I got it." he responded soberly.

"…And, _remember_, our parents, especially after we tell them what's going on, are _not_ going to let us go back out there so easily, so either be _very_ convincing, or just leave—whether or not they want you to—because we can't afford to waste any time." she finally finished giving her orders.

Collin and Sean, both, looked at her with some surprise and shock. They had not expected her to be so blunt or brazen, regarding how the teens should treat their parents. They truly did not want to treat their parent s as Lacey had just described, but they both knew that they had little choice in the matter if they wanted this situation to turn out okay. After exchanging a few quick glances and looks in the rear-view mirror, Sean and Collin both turned their attention back to Lacey and nodded. "Yeah Lace, we got it. We _understand_." the two teenage boys replied to Lacey's cold comments.

"_Good_. Now, Sean and I—since we both live on the same street—should take only a few minutes to get all of our supplies, inform our parents, and get back in the car. The moment we're back in the car, we'll be heading back to pick you up, so don't be late. Make sure that you're outside your house—waiting and ready—when we come back for you." Lacey requested.

"Gotchya." Collin responded, just as the car came to a complete stop. Collin unbuckled his seat-belt and exited the vehicle. He closed the door behind himself and looked on at his two friends, as they sped away, waving in the distance. He waved back until their vehicle was completely out of sight, and then Collin turned his attention the house in front of him: _his_ house. He took a deep breath and slowly began to approach the house.

* * *

><p>A worried and lost Nick Dean wandered throughout the ruined streets of Retroville, his step-daughter some feet behind him. His dark, wavy hair usually flowed with beauty—beauty that he had spent <em>so<em> long in the bathroom trying to prepare—but today, it was obviously left uncombed and neglected, simply because today he was in a rush, and he had more important things to think about.

He was desperate, and he knew exactly why he was so desperate. He didn't have his daughter at his side. He missed her; he was worried about her, and just as he began to think these things, he felt weak in the legs. He looked down at the cell phone in his hands. He had tried to call her ten times. _Ten_. She hadn't picked up—not even _one_ of those times. '_Where on Earth could she be?_' Nick thought to himself, now worrying about his wife as well. Just then a fact registered in his brain; it was a fact that he knew, and that he had known all along, but nonetheless, it was a fact that he had chosen to ignore, to repress. But now, unfortunately, that fact had shown its ugly face, as he continued to desperately search for his daughter. The fact that was a simple one, but a shocking and startling one: he did not know where Betty was, or what had happened to her, but furthermore, the same was true for his daughter, and, '_Rachel was WITH Betty!_' he thought to himself, finally finishing the fact in his mind.

He had to stop thinking about this, or it would drive him insane—but then it probably already had. He took his cell phone, and he, once again, tried dialing Betty's number, and once again, he got nothing but dial tone and her voice mail. He ended the call, and a torrent of emotion flooded through him. He had to fight with himself to keep from throwing-up or shedding a tear. Of course he was worried about Betty. Any man with at least a half-sane mind would worry about his wife in a time like this.

However, right now—although Nick was worried about his wife—he was _far_ more worried about his daughter. At that moment, as he was about to break down and cry, a comforting hand rested on his shoulder. He turned around and looked into two familiar dark-amber eyes.

"Nick, stop worrying. They'll be fine." she said, trying, ever-so-hard to comfort her emotionally unstable step-father.

He nodded and smiled, and although it was a forced and unnatural action, she appreciated it. She usually always knew how to make him melt, to make him calm down. Ever since she was six she knew how to do that, but _today_… …No, today was different, _vastly_ different.

"Thanks. I know that you're right honey, but I just can't stop thinking about them." he responded, still slightly shaken-up. He could never live with himself if let those two get hurt, especially not after all the terrible things that he had done in his life. Betty—and his daughter, especially—had truly turned him around.

"I know, I know. But we just can't think about that. It serves no purpose. Looking for them, and finding them—_that _serves a purpose." she smiled at Nick, and he returned the favor, but this time, it wasn't forced. Sarah cared about her mother and her little sister, and she wanted nothing more than for both of them to be safe and together. However, in the current circumstances, she felt that she shouldn't voice her real feelings, at least, for the sake of her step-father. Nick had been through a lot, and the _last_ thing that he needed was to think about anything bad happening to his family.

Nick Dean, followed closely by his step daughter, continued to walk through the ruined streets of Retroville, and he constantly tried to call or make contact with his wife or his daughter, but somehow, he never got through. Although he expected the same outcome _every_ single time that he called, he _never_ stopped calling.

They were walking for some time, not really paying attention to their surroundings. At that point, a few of the Proxians' ships zoomed by overhead, which distinctly caught Sarah's attention. Nick was still engrossed in his own thoughts and still currently eyeing his phone, ready to make another phone call—so much so, that he did not even notice when the alien ships zoomed by overhead. Sarah tapped him on the shoulder, and he stopped and turned around to face her.

"…Um… …Nick, di-did you just see that?" she asked him, pointing absently to the sky.

Nick followed her gazed, but he saw nothing. "See _what_, Sarah?" he questioned her.

Just then, a fresh new group of alien ships zoomed by overhead, but this time the ships were not heading to a specific location. This time they appeared to be running from something, and after a few seconds of silence the question of: '_What were THEY running from?_,' was answered, as a group of American and Canadian Air Force Fighter Jets raced by overhead, in direct pursuit of the alien vessels.

Just then, the six jets open up on their invading enemies, and a spray of metal—pure, _human-made_, murderous, metal—went flying after the alien ships. The barrage of bullets connected and penetrated a few the ships, but what surely sent the message were the two rockets that each jet fired next, successfully bringing down one ship each.

Six alien ships ceased to fly, and they all fell to the surface of the Earth, now completely useless. After the resulting expansive explosions and the ruckus of the "dogfight" had subsided, the sky quieted down, and it sounded subtlety silent—_too_ silent. The skies felt and looked eerily clear, but that was quickly changed. Another group of alien vessels zoomed by, and made their way to the direct rear of the fighter jets.

With one shot—fired from a single alien ship—a large blue plasma bolt was fired. The single blue bolt struck the middle human jet, causing it to explode immediately, and the resulting blast was so large, that it engulfed the five surrounding fighter jets, and soon all six jets were gone, leaving in their place six burning husks of useless manmade metal.

Just as the firefight in the sky was finishing, Nick heard gunshots somewhere else in the distance. The shots were the sounds of human weapons, but there was definitely the distinct sound of the _silent_ hissing of the aliens' weapons being used. The firefight continued for several minutes, until dead stillness filled the entire area. Sickly silence filed the area once again. Nick looked up at the smoke cloud in the sky, and he decided that it reminded him of something: _Hell-Fire_.

**A/N: Well, I sure hope that you guys enjoyed that new chapter! …Oh, and "Sarah"—the one that is Nick's step-daughter—is, in fact, the EXACT SAME Sarah, from Chapter 1, just so you know. Stay tuned for the next update! …Oh, and please R&R!**


	8. Before the Battle

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron, or anything affiliated with said franchise, nor do I know how to properly forge John A. Davis's signature. Oh well.**

***Additional Announcement(s)*: My NEW story, "_GTNG Ongoing OneShots_," has been updated, and it will continue to be updated as frequently and quickly as possible! Please check it out!**

***New Notice*: If any of you are interested, I have started ANOTHER JN FanFic, which I WILL FINISH, and which will be a LOOONG one, ALMOST as long as this one! If you would be so kind, as to check-it-out, I'd be greatly obliged! My new Fic is under the title "_Fight to the Finish_."**

**Author Announcement(s): THANK you ALL, those of you who reviewed my story thus far, and THANK YOU to ALL of you who WILL review in the future! Those reviews allow me to take your comments, criticisms, and remarks into account—and I use EVERY LAST ONE OF THOSE REVIEWS—in-order, to make this story a more-enjoyable experience for EVERYONE currently reading this story of mine. Don't stop now! Keep on Reading-&-Reviewing!**

**VIII. Before the Battle**

Collin knocked lightly on the door and waited for a response. He was anxious, very anxious, and that feeling came entirely from thinking about what was about to transpire. His anxiety had nothing to do with the looming alien invasion of his hometown—or his planet as a whole. His nervousness came from an entirely different thought, and that only made him incredibly, inexplicably, more concerned.

He stood on the exterior of the house, observing its every feature, its every point of beauty, and all of its flaws. He knew this house quite well. He had spent most of his short teenage life growing-up in this house, and he had lived here for the majority of his remembered existence. It was his house. Situated here, in the heart of Retroville, it looked somewhat, surprisingly, peaceful. Even with the murderous, monstrous, bloodthirsty, deathly efficient enemies that had descended upon this once-peaceful town, this house still retained its look of sereneness and calm, and what surprised him the most was the fact that he completely expected the house to look like this.

He sighed deeply and lowered his head as he awaited a response from the interior of the house. A thought then crossed his mind. '_What if they're not home? What if the aliens got them?_' Collin thought to himself. His mind raced with these new implications, and as the seconds ticked by—and still no response was heard, he began to think the worse. He hated himself for thinking these kinds of things.

As time went on, he felt his hopes slipping, and his biggest nightmare beginning to set in. He had absolutely no idea what would he do if they _had_ been taken. He had no "plan b." He waited for what seemed like hours—but were, in actuality, only seconds—and he began to wonder what he would tell Lucy, his little sister, and how he could ever possibly cope with the thought or pain of losing his parents. Just then, the front door flew open—almost completely off its hinges—and two familiar faces flew at him.

Only ten complete seconds after he had first knocked on the door, Collin was greeted—in a very crushing embrace—by both of his parents. He accepted this embrace, and he enjoyed it because he knew that it came from worry and affection, and right now he understood those two feelings quite well. After some time, however, even with his muscular male form, the embrace was beginning to take its toll on his body and inflict pain on him, so he gently released his parents and allowed them their chance to let go of him and gather their wits.

After some time, they released him from their vice grips and gently, slowly, backed away. He stood there, opposite his two parents, Victor and Natalie Gallagher. Gently, gradually, without uttering a single sound, all three of them made their way inside the house, just as a hostile Proxian ship sped by overhead, followed by human air support—and more enemy ships. His mother's jet-black dark hair—tied-up in a bun—perfectly matched the color of his father's own dark hair, which was currently organized rather haphazardly—but still somewhat decent. Both of their faces were filled with a variety feelings and an eclectic mix if emotions; however, the most apparent and noticeable one was obvious to anyone who even quickly glanced at their faces. It was concern, and it was painted all over their faces. Concern is what they felt; it was their dominant feeling, concern for their son, concern for their house, concern for themselves, concern for their daughter. Before Collin could even fully catch his breath, both of his parents spoke, simultaneously, and they uttered the exact same sentence.

"Where's Lucy?" they asked Collin, both wanting a definitive and reassuring answer.

"…" Collin did not respond.

"…Collin?" his father addressed him a little uneasily. Collin raised his head to greet his father's curious and worried eyes. He slowly, but surely, made eye contact with the older man.

"Where is she?" his mother chimed in.

"Luce is safe. Look, I nee—" Collin tried to finish what he thought was an important statement, but he was prevented from doing so, by the interruption of his father and his commanding and accusing tone.

"That's not what we asked you. Collin, where the hell is Lucy?" Mr. Gallagher asked angrily. He was quickly losing his patience with his son, and it was showing quite clearly.

Collin looked both hurt and shocked, and he struggled—quite roughly—with himself and his conscience, and he juggled many thoughts in his mind. His mind was useful, and completely functional, but he certainly wasn't the quickest person either. He raced and reeled through many different thoughts and explanations, and desperately looked for something to tell his parents. His mind was working, but it was not working fast enough. He opened his mouth, still not sure that his response was the right one, or even the one that they were probing for, but he had to say something. Before he could even get a word out, however, his father, once again, beat him to it.

"Collin, where the hell is your sister? Don't tell me that you left her _out there_!" Mr. Gallagher exploded excitedly, pointing to the outside of the house, where the distant sounds of battle—gunfire, explosions, and speeding aircraft—could easily have been distinguished. As he said this statement, he took a large step towards Collin. Collin, inadvertently, backed up to increase the distance between them.

Before anyone else could take any more actions, though, Mrs. Gallagher, reached her husband's rear and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he stopped his advance. Mr. Gallagher's facial expression changed drastically at that moment, and he became much more understandable. Sometimes Collin was very grateful for the comforting effect that his mother had, not only on his father, but also on the entire family. His father's expression now read as though the more dominant emotion was no longer anger, but was, once again, concern.

"Collin… …I'm… …I'm sorry. I just didn't kno—" Mr. Gallagher started, but was cut off by his son.

"It's okay, dad. I get it. I know. I'm not happy about this whole thing either." Collin interrupted his father's choppy apology.

Mr. Gallagher raised his head and looked his son directly in the eye. For the first time since he entered the house, Collin saw his father smile, and even though it was forced, he appreciated it. "…So, she is still out there, then?" Mrs. Gallagher asked worriedly, addressing her somewhat flustered son. Collin nodded in response. Her face, along with her husband's expression, were both immediately overcome with significant grief, worry, and sadness.

"We have to go get her then!" Mr. Gallagher exclaimed, about ready to burst into a full sprint in the direction of the door.

Collin may not have been as fast on his feet as some of friends, but he had response ready for this occasion. "Dad, wait. You guys aren't nearly equipped well enough to go out there. These things—theses monsters—they're not like any of the other aliens we've ever seen. They don't take things lightly. They're tearing the military up out there right now. Going out there is _not_ a very good idea." Collin explained.

Mr. Gallagher raised an eyebrow. "…And just what do you suggest we do? Leave her out there? I'm going to get my daughter, _dammit_!" Mr. Gallagher fumed, as he marched deliberately towards the door.

Collin placed a hand on his father's chest and stopped Mr. Gallagher's advance. "No dad. I don't think we should leave her—of course not. _I'm_ going to get her." Collin said commandingly.

His father looked somewhat shocked. "…And you think a sixteen-year-old stands a better chance against those creatures than two full-grown adults do? Are you out of your mind?" Mr. Gallagher addressed his son.

"No. I'm just prepared." Collin said, lifting up his shirt and exposing his holstered warp pistol.

"Where the hell did you—" Mr. Gallagher's surprised reaction was cut short by Collin's ready response.

"Jenny." Collin said shortly.

Mr. Gallagher chuckled. "Just like her old dad, huh?" Mr. Victor Gallagher mused. Victor Gallagher had not known Jimmy Neutron for a long time, but in the short time that he had known him, he could tell what kind of person he was. From all of the amazing stories and legends that he heard of the "amazing genius, Jimmy Neutron," and the few times that Jimmy had helped save the day in his adult life, Victor knew what he was capable of, and now it was apparent that he had passed on that same talent to his children.

Collin chuckled in response. "Yeah, I guess so. She is prepared, I'll tell you that. You know what? She has a stockpile that might make Russia a little nervous." Collin said light-heartedly, effectively lightening the mood.

"I believe that. Still, though, you going out there by yourself is _not_ something that I'm fond of." Mr. Gallagher replied.

"Vic, let him go." Mrs. Gallagher intervened. He looked somewhat surprised at her intervention, as did her son. She turned her full attention to Collin now. "On _one_ condition."

Collin looked at his mother uneasily. "…Yeah?" he replied, wanting to know her condition.

"You _both_ come back safe and sound." she responded gently.

Collin smiled and nodded in response. "I just have to grab a few things, and then I'm off." he stated with an air of finality and meaning that surprised both of parents. Collin made his way to his kitchen to see what he could scrounge up and take as usable supplies. He knew he would need a lot.

* * *

><p>Sean's car slowed significantly from its dangerously careless speed, to a somewhat reasonable one as he entered his neighborhood—and Lacey's neighborhood, as well. He continued to break the speed limit as he careened down the street towards his next objective: towards Lacey's house. He held the steering wheel with two hands, and he continued to travel in excess of the recommended safety speed.<p>

The sounds of battle and bloodshed could be heard from afar. The conflict was heating up very quickly. He hoped Ryan and Lucy were, alright; he and Lacey _both_ did. His car continued to speed forward, and just in that instance, the he noticed a burning hunk of metal—what looked like alien metal—falling to the ground. He would have smiled and said some corny victory cry, had he not seen the ten American fighter jets that fell to the ground directly beside the fallen alien aircraft. His seriousness deepened, and his expression became somber and somewhat angry. His speed increased somewhat.

The sound of human-made bullets and projectiles was drowned-out by the silent and eerie sound of Proxian plasma and propulsion, which was a terrible sound to his ears. He continued to steer towards his objective, his eyes now constantly on the road, never moving an inch from his path-of-travel. He couldn't afford to worry about the battles going on around him. He had a mission, a goal, a target. He had to get there. Worrying about things he couldn't control was only going to make it worse, and he knew this for a fact; _both_ he and Lacey did, but it did not stop him from worrying. It only made it more difficult to concentrate on his assigned task.

He felt one of hands taken from the steering wheel. When he looked over, he saw that Lacey had wrapped his hand in her own, apparently in attempt to comfort him. It was as if she could read his mind. She was just like that sometimes. It wasn't a girl thing. It was a Lacey thing. He turned his head to face her, and for the brief moment he did, his own eyes met her beautiful brown ones, and he smiled. She returned the favor. He then quickly averted his eyes back to the road and focused on his task. He kept his hand in hers. That was simply expected.

Finally, the car came to stop. Lacey's hand released Sean's warm palm. He sighed at having to do this, but he knew that it was necessary. As she opened the door, and before she exited the vehicle, she turned to him and smiled.

"I'll only be a sec." she stated, trying her best to make him feel better.

"I know. Same here. I'll be back in a flash. Be safe, okay…?" Sean addressed his girlfriend uneasily.

She nodded in response and placed a quick but warm kiss on his lips. She exited the car and shut the door. Sean sped off, now heading towards to his own house, his face just a stern and serious as ever.

Lacey eyed the car until it was completely out of sight, and she sighed at seeing this. She then turned her entire body to face her own house. It was same as she remembered it from this morning before she had left for school, but somehow, it was vastly different. She took a deep breath and began to approach the house.

She finally, after what seemed like an eternity, reached the front door. She rapped lightly on the door, and almost immediately, it flung open and a grateful and teary-eyed dark-skinned woman threw herself at Lacey, trapping her in a severely strangling grip. After some time, Lacey's mother released her. The two women then, slowly, entered the house, all the while explosions and the sounds of battle were ripping through the arid air around them.

Susan Walldrop was a fairly attractive middle-aged African-American woman in her forties. Her facial expression was clear and readable. She was obviously tired and exhausted, both by the stress, worry, concern, and anxiety of the current situation—and by life itself. She smiled at her daughter and she was silent for a few moments.

"Lace, I'm so happy you're alright." the woman eagerly and joyfully addressed her daughter.

"I know mom. I'm happy you're okay to. It's really a load off my mind to see you here right now." Lacey responded to her mother with a smile.

"Well, those 'nasties' up there are making a _real_ mess of things! I sure hope the military does something soon!" Susan stated rather brashly.

"…Mom, they _are_ doing something. They're fighting those _things_. …And they're _losing_." Lacey responded sounding severely down-trodden.

"…Oh…" was all her mother could respond with.

"…Yeah…" Lacey responded just as uneasily.

"…Well, at least we still have the '_Good Ole Neutron Family_' to do what they usually do: save the day, because, I mean thank god for them. This town has avoided disaster on so many occasions because of them." Susan stated, seeming to find hope where her daughter found none.

Lacey's expression perked-up, along with her general demeanor. Her mother was absolutely right. In addition the fact that her mother had just stated, Jenny's parents had seen this entire scenario coming ahead of time. There was no telling what they would do when they took the fight into their own hands. She smiled half-heartedly, feeling that there some hope to see an end to this carnage.

"Yeah, mom. You're absolutely right." Lacey said, smiling somewhat.

"Well, of course I am, honey." Susan responded, sarcastically, chuckling the entire time. "Hey, honey, what time is it? Do you know?" Susan asked her daughter.

Suddenly, after hearing the word '_time_,' something clicked in Lacey's brain. She remembered why she had come home in the first place. She had to do what she came to, and she cringed at knowing just how much this would hurt her mother. Hurting her was the last thing that Lacey wanted, but she saw no other way.

"Mom, listen, I'm gonna grab some supplies and head back out there. Sean needs my help. Whatever you do, do _not_ go outside, okay! Those things are _way_ tougher than they appear." Lacey addressed her mother, who looked stunned as she stood there, wide-eyed.

Lacey began to make her way to kitchen, only to have her wrist grabbed by her mother's forceful grip. Susan pulled her daughter back into her view and addressed her directly. "Lacey Nicole Walldrop! You are _INSANE_ if you think that I'm letting you go back out _there_!" Susan exploded.

Lacey put a comforting hand on her mother's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Mom, I know. But, I have to. I gave Sean my word. He needs to find his mother, and I can't let him go by himself. I _need_ to go mom." Lacey explained, managing to escape her mother's death grip.

"I _can't _lose you too! After you father's—" Susan said, but was unable to finish as she broke into tears, remembering the night of her late husband's fatal car accident. Lacey's eyes filled with the salty solution as well. It was not a happy memory for them—_either_ of them.

"Mom, I _know_. But, I promise that I'm going to come back, okay?" Lacey addressed her mother, who by this point, could only manage to nod shakily and shed more tears. Lacey knew that she understood, but she also knew how much this would hurt her. Lacey turned away from her mother, heading towards her kitchen, searching for useable supplies, all the while trying to mask the tears that were now falling freely from her eyes.

* * *

><p>Sean exited his car, and he shut the door behind him. As walked towards the front door of the house, he heard the car horn sound securely in his car, indicating that it was locked. He heard this sound, and even though he <em>knew <em>that he _had_ to have been the one who locked it, he could not remember doing so. He would not be able to recall that memory later either. His mind was far too preoccupied with his current task—the task at hand—that it did not even register simple things or actions, such as locking his car, which he had done so very often in the past.

Sean drew in a deep breath, and he proceeded to towards the front door of his house. Before he even reached the veranda of the house the door flung open, and his father, Eduardo Rodriguez, a rather well-built, well-tanned Hispanic, stood there waiting for his son to enter the house. '_He must have heard the car lock_,' Sean thought, but this thought was at the back of his mind, because of the fact that the task that Sean was now required to perform required so much thought, processing, and brain power, that he could barely even think straight.

Sean stopped for a second before he reached the veranda, in order to gather his thoughts—at least as best as he could do in the current situation. He then proceeded up the veranda stairs, into the house, and into his waiting father's arms. He entered his father's crushing vice-grip hold, and he welcomed it, because it gave him more time to think. Soon, however, his father released him, and spoke.

"Sean, I'm so relieved to see that you're alright." he spoke with a heavy accent, but in very clear and fluent English. Eduardo smiled at his son, and Sean returned the favor.

"Yeah dad. It's really good to see that you're okay too. Those things are wreaking havoc all over the city. The military can barely touch them!" Sean exclaimed.

"…Hmmm… Perhaps you should ask Jennifer to involve her family. They always seem to know what to do." he responded to his son.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they already know. I don't know what they're going to do about it, but knowing them, they probably already have a plan." Sean said, somewhat relieved by the truth of his own words.

"Mhhmmm, I'm sure of it. They picked the wrong planet to invade." Eduardo responded, light-heartedly, chuckling to himself.

"…Dad. The corny one-liners are _my_ thing." Sean said, chuckling slightly to himself.

"I know. Where do you think you got it from?" Eduardo responded, smiling once again.

"Haha, yeah, I guess you're right." Sean replied successfully lighting the mood—at least slightly.

"Where are the rest of your friends? …And Lacey?" Eduardo questioned his son.

Sean heaved a deep a sigh. This was it. It was time to do what he came to do. "Actually, we all have to meet each other. Some of our friends' parents have gone missing, and we're going to help them locate the missing adults. I'm going too, dad." Sean explained.

Eduardo looked stunned. "Sean, you are my son, and I will support you in everything that you do, but I will _NOT_ support you in an assisted suicide attempt! You are staying right here!" Eduardo boomed.

Sean cringed. It had started. "Dad, listen."

"No! _You_ listen! No son of mine is going out there to get himself killed! If I have the ability to stop it, then I will stop it! I cannot allow this! I'm sorry, Sean." Eduardo finished his loud and booming rant.

Sean sighed. He would have to use his last resort: his lie. "Dad, they've got Lacey. What would you do if it was mom?" Sean asked sincerely. He had just done the unthinkable. He had done two things, both of which were sure to get his backside "fried." He lied, and he had mentioned his mother. _Both _Sean, and his father's relationship with his mother—Sarah Laney—was one that was "_rough_," to say the least. If his father ever knew he had done _both_, he'd get beaten brutally, but right now, it was worth the risk.

Eduardo sighed a very deep sigh. "You come back! You hear me! You come back _alive_!" Eduardo boomed. Sean nodded vigorously. He rushed into the kitchen and grabbed as many useable supplies as he could manage. He was in his car within minutes. As he started the vehicle, he rolled down his window and addressed his father. "…And dad…" Sean stated slowly.

"…Yeah…?" his father responded, slightly uneasily.

"Would you please call mom and warn her about everything as well? I'm pretty sure that she knows already, but just to be on the safe side. I don't want her to get hurt." Sean requested.

Eduardo sighed deeply, once again. He and Sarah _rarely_ talked. They just didn't. But he would oblige his son, at least in the current situation, and Sean knew that. "Alright, Sean. Be safe, okay!" he yelled back at his son.

Sean nodded and took off, speeding off to pick up Lacey and Collin, and not wanting to waste any more time.

* * *

><p>Ryan and Lucy sprinted through the alleyways and backstreets, all the while Ryan was toting Rachel close to his body, as if she was precious cargo. They were still in the general vicinity of the area where they left both of their bikes, but they did not want take-off using their vehicles, at least not yet, for fear of attracting to much attention—especially the attention of the five alien soldiers that had broken off from the original group of thirteen earlier.<p>

The two teens ran and darted through the alleyways, although at every turn they expected to be confronted with the sight of five vicious enemies. The group of three ran, continually trying to make their route as confusing and unpredictable as possible, in order to best lose their five pursuers—or so they thought. The two teens slowed to a complete stop as they approached the brick wall of a dead end alley. Ryan stopped walking altogether, and Lucy followed his actions with her own deceleration.

The two teens, now completely devoid of motion, made the small, but noticeable, gesture of looking up at the tall brick wall in front of them. They had reached the end of their path. The look in Ryan's eyes turned from apprehension to anger—and back again—as these were two terrible emotions he had already too much experience with today already. Lucy turned her inquisitively icy stare to her counterpart. She opened her mouth, obviously intending to speak. Ryan saw this action, so he quickly clamped his own mouth shut, which was also open and ready to give an utterance of his own. Before either of the two teens could utter a sound, however, another sound entirely grabbed both of their attentions.

"What's wrong?" a sweet, sincere, and very familiar voice broke the silence. The source of the sound was quickly identified, and the two older humans turned to face the small girl, whose head was turned towards the brick wall. Being carried by Ryan had forced her into the position of having her head turned in the opposite direction that her two protectors were running towards. Now, with her head turned around, and her view shifted, she answered her own question.

Looking upon the large brick wall in front of the group of three, she saw what was wrong. She saw why they had stopped. They had nowhere else to go. Ryan sighed in a very deep breath. Rachel, now realizing what was preventing the group of three from proceeding any further, expected no answer to her previously posed question; however, the two teens apparently thought differently, thus they responded to her. Ryan gave Lucy a quick look, and she returned the favor just as quickly. Ryan opened his mouth, and he addressed the five-year-old that he was currently carrying.

"Rachel, listen, how do you feel about flying?" he asked the little girl, in what seemed like a semi-sarcastic, semi-serious tone.

Rachel chuckled and shrugged. "I duuno. I think it'd be pretty cool. Why, do you guys have a jetpack or something?" she responded, now seeming hopeful for the chance to take a reckless risk of her own.

At the mention of the word "jetpack," Lucy turned her head to glare right at—or rather through, as her stare was quite piercing—Ryan. She had a general idea of what he was planning every step of the way, and every move they made—although it was not always verbally expressed—was usually expected by both of the two teens, and that is just the way she wanted it. She was supposed to be his counterpart, his equal, and while she knew that she was a full year younger than him, they both knew that had no bearing on her ability to lead, survive, think, or for that matter, her ability to kill.

The vague possibility that Ryan actually had a jetpack—especially after all of the events that had transpired today—seemed like an actual plausible fact that might have been true, especially since there was no telling exactly how "well-prepared" Jenny and her brother were. The thought that he had, or could have, kept something so simple, yet so important, from her sent her into another torrent of emotions—emotions including anger, rage, envy, betrayal, and a slew of others—that, coupled with her already highly-raging demeanor, made for a very bad attitude to be exuded from the teenage girl beside him. Her stare continued to penetrate him, but he seemed to be completely unfazed by her ice cold stare.

He seemed to understand exactly what she was feeling, and he shook his head, silently telling her that she was wrong, that she was assuming far too much, that she had no reason to feel any of the feelings that she was currently feeling. He had no jetpack; it was simply a joke made by a five-year-old girl, and she had failed to see that. She needed to calm down. She knew this; they both did. He knew that, if left unchecked, her temper and slight insecurities could cost them—severely.

They had experienced many adventures in the past, and they both knew a general layout of each other's personalities, including their weaknesses and flaws. This keen knowledge of all of their friends' different personas was especially important because of the flaws and weaknesses of many of their friends, including Ryan and Lucy themselves, had almost cost them defeat on many occasions before. Although Ryan had much less experience with Lucy, Jake and their friends, then he did with his own group and their own personalities, he knew Jake's friends well enough to understand what she was going through.

This time was different, though, and they both knew, and acknowledged, that fact. This time, if they failed, no one would be there to bail them out. If they failed, it was all over. Lucy nodded and proceeded to take a deep breath. Ryan smiled slightly, and after a long, and somewhat awkward, silence—one which only the young girl seemed to notice the weirdness of, as was clear by her quickly shifting eyes, which went from Ryan, to Lucy, and back again many times in the span of deafening silence—Ryan continued his expiation.

"No, Rachel, no jetpack. But you'll be going through the air, nonetheless." he said, smirking at the small girl. She retorted with a silent response: a face contorted with the obvious expressions of annoyance, confusion, and amusement.

The girl pursed her lips and responded, still slightly amused by his antics. "What do you mean by that, exactly?" she asked, seeming a little afraid of the possible reply.

Ryan chuckled, and at the same time, he gave Lucy a quick signal, moving his eyes rapidly to and fro the wall in front of them. She seemed to understand exactly what he was saying. She chuckled to herself. She nodded and her face contorted in very readable fashion—whether in understanding, agreement, or amusement, it was unclear, but the latter seemed to be the most dominant facial expression.

The girl seemed a little annoyed by their constant silence and lack of information, and thus, she expressed her feelings. "Um, _hello_!" she shouted at the two teenagers. They turned to look directly at her. "What did you mean by '_flying_?'" she asked, now warily worried, but her amusement was still obviously present as well.

"You'll see honey." Lucy replied to confused girl's comment, and by the new expression on her face, it did little to help the five-year-old. She wanted more information, but she was now well-aware that she was not going to get it, so she remained silent—albeit against her wishes.

"You want to go over first, or should I?" Ryan asked, now addressing his teenage counterpart.

"Are you kidding me? Why is that even a question? You should! You're '_Mister Parkour_,' anyways!" Lucy responded, now seeming to be a little amused herself. Rachel was now completely lost.

"Alrighty then, if you say so. I was just asking. I mean you know how Jenny gets when I—" Ryan began to explain why, even though it seemed like a clear choice of who should "go over first," he had asked Lucy. But Lucy had cut him off.

"Ryan. I'm _not_ Jenny." Lucy replied rather harshly, and her constant self-comparisons to the genius was apparent, which was something very _rare_, indeed. She did _not_ let her insecurities slip out into the open often—if at _all_.

Ryan was utterly shocked, but he quickly shook it off. He knew about a great number of Lucy's flaws—just as she knew a great deal of his own flaws—but this was a completely new concept to him. He wasn't sure if he should apologize, or just let it go, so he chose the latter. He nodded, and remained silent. Ryan walked over the somewhat unreadable teenage girl beside him, and he grabbed Rachel by waist, attempting to remove her from his grip; however, the girl was not expecting this, and she resisted.

"HEY! What are you doing?" she questioned his apparently odd actions.

"Listen hon, I'm going to go over the wall. You stay here with Lucy, until she's ready to come over herself." Ryan answered the girl.

She still looked somewhat confused, but she nodded, not wanting to question him. She released her grip of the boy, and he handed her to Lucy. Lucy took the injured girl with care, making sure to avoid her wounded leg. Rachel clambered up to Lucy's shoulder, where she remained. Lucy Smirked sarcastically at the girl. "You know, if you can afford to get up _there_ all by yourself, then you can probably walk as well." Lucy commented on Rachel's ability to get to Lucy's upper shoulder, using a very cynical tone.

Rachel forced a chuckle that was _noticeably_ forced and, after sticking her tongue out at the teenager, she responded, "Haha, very funny." Lucy smiled in response.

Ryan noticed this, and he was thankful that Lucy seemed to be over her previous quip about Jenny—although Ryan still had no idea what it was about in the first place. Lucy nodded at him, and he nodded back.

Ryan looked up at the wall before him, and he scanned the general surroundings around it. There were two other brick walls that were adjoined on either side with one directly in front of him. He sighed, and took a deep breath. He took a few steps back. Before taking off towards the wall, he crouched down. He then sprung into action.

He launched himself at the wall perpendicular to the wall he was trying to get over, and he hit the wall, foot first, and with a hard kick, the wall responded very quickly and sent him forcefully in the other direction. Before his back hit the hard brick surface, however, he somehow managed to turn his body around and face the surface he was about to make contact with, grabbing the ledge of the high brick wall with precision and pulling himself up and over with barely any effort—or, at least, so it seemed.

Ryan looked back at the two humans on the ground and mockingly saluted them. Lucy rolled her eyes, clearly not impressed; however, Rachel was obviously far more intrigued by what Ryan had just done, as she failed to close her mouth which was currently hanging open. Ryan chuckled at the young girl's expression, and after she noticed this and closed her mouth, he took the next second to dismount the ledge of the wall, and land safely on the other side. He was now completely out of view. He was out of view, but he was certainly not out of earshot. His voice came through the wall a moment sooner.

"You ready Luce?" he asked, and just as sudden as he his comment came, Lucy responded almost as quickly.

"Yeah. You want her high, or long?" Lucy asked, and at hearing the mention of a certain "_her_," and the word "_high_," Rachel swallowed hard.

She tugged on the slightly burned sleeve of Lucy's black-and-white shirt. Lucy looked up at the girl. "Yes?" Lucy asked the small child.

"…Hey… …Um… …What did you mean by '_her_,' and '_high_?'" Rachel asked, hoping for anything but the answer she was expecting.

"Rachel, how exactly did you think you were going to get over the wall?" Lucy asked teasingly.

"…" Rachel did not respond. She just gulped and looked at the tall wall in front of her.

"Toss her high." Ryan replied through the wall.

"Got it!" Lucy yelled back, and just as she did so, she took a few steps back. She looked at Rachel. "Just close your eyes, and I promise it'll be over really soon, okay?" Lucy tried to calm down the obviously-frightened little girl. Rachel only nodded in response.

Lucy took the girl in her arms, and transferred her to her hands, using her abdomen and arms as handles, holding the girl like a football. She then ran towards the wall and launched both of her hands forwards, releasing Rachel as she did so, and the girl was catapulted through the air, but she never closed her eyes. She was no longer afraid either. Lucy had aimed high, alright. The girl flew feet over the wall, and the flight took longer than she had expected, as the five-year-old waited for the endless trip to end. Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it was over, and she was in Ryan's arms again. She smiled up at him, and he returned the favor. "Enjoy flying air toddler?" he asked her teasingly.

She nodded vigorously in response. "Yeah, that was _fun_! Let's do it again!" she yelled enthusiastically. Ryan chuckled, and Lucy's laughter could be heard from the other side of the wall as well.

"No way, kid! You are way heavier than you look! An old broad like me can't take that kind of strain again!" Lucy responded through the brick partition, and her teasing tone made Rachel roll her eyes.

"Okay, Luce! Your turn!" Ryan yelled through the brick.

The response from the other side took a while to come. "…Um, yeah. …About that… …Ryan, I don't think that we thought this all the way through." she said, sounding slightly deflated and defeated.

Ryan looked somewhat taken aback by her comment. "…What do you mean Luce?" he asked, seeming a little worried himself.

"I can't get over that wall! You're the only one who can do that parkour crap!" Lucy exclaimed.

"…Oh, right." Ryan replied, seeming to remember this important and very crucial fact.

"…Well…?..." Lucy questioned, and Ryan's response came far faster than she expected it to.

"Lucy, how many shields do you have left?" he inquired.

"…What?" she replied, taken aback by his apparent lack-of-concern for her situation.

"Your forcefields! How many do you have left?" Ryan asked once again.

"…Um… …Well, I used two, so I think I have three energy orbs left. Why?" Lucy responded, wondering where he was going with this.

"Listen, and I know that this might sound a little crazy—" he started, but Lucy cut him off.

"I'm always up for crazy…" she trailed off, and although he couldn't see it, she was smirking.

"...Alright then. Listen. Dispense one of your remaining energy orbs, and run towards the wall, full speed, and just before you reach the base of the wall, activate the orb and throw it directly at the base of the wall. The moment the orb makes contact with the asphalt, it should activate and create a forcefield parallel to the ground. Then, after dispensing the shield, and right before you reach the base of the wall, jump—and make sure it's a full-force jump—directly onto the center of the shield, and _aim for the sky_! That should do the trick." Ryan explained his crazy idea.

Lucy understood, but she was still somewhat confused. She dispensed one of her remaining energy orbs into her palm, but before she did anything further, she questioned Ryan's idea. "…And, um… …How exactly is this supposed to get me over the wall?" Lucy inquired intricately.

"Do you remember what I told you in the parking lot, about the physics of the shields?" Ryan asked.

Lucy smirked. She understood now. "Yeah, I remember. They work on a '_Physics Force System_,' right?" she made sure of herself.

"Yeah, that's right. Anything that makes contact with them—anything traveling faster than eight miles an hour—will be—" Ryan started his explanation, but he was interrupted by Lucy.

"—_Deflected_." Lucy finished his comment, as she started to run, constantly gaining speed, towards the base of the brick wall. She smirked as she activated the energy orb in her hand, and now at full speed, she threw the glowing ball at the base of the brick wall in front of her. The orb hit the ground, activating and expanding into a circular red shield parallel to the asphalt floor half-a-millimeter below it.

She blew a wisp of her dark hair out of her face, and just as she did so, she jumped, using all of her might and lower-body strength, and she landed in the dead center of the red circle. The next second was a dizzying blur as she was flung high into the air. She aimed her body, and as it arced through the air, she got some control over her general direction, and she grabbed the ledge of the wall she was aiming for. She hoisted herself up, and she took note of her captive audience some feet below her.

She took a cynical bow, and her gesture was similar to the mock salute Ryan had given a few moments before. Rachel's mouth was, once again, hanging open. It was now Ryan's turn to roll his eyes. Lucy descended the wall, and she joined the group waiting for her.

The three humans continued their journey through the alleyways of Retroville, constantly keeping any eye out for the five aliens they were sure they would run into. Ryan fidgeted a little, and Lucy immediately took notice.

"Hey, Rye, you've been carrying her for a while. How's about we give my shoulder a turn." she remarked, noticing his slight discomfort.

"I can walk. I don't want to hurt you." Rachel commented, and after seeing the two sets eyes on her, she sank back.

"Rachel, you can't walk with that bad leg, and no, you're not hurting me. I promise." Ryan reassured her, and she smiled.

"But, still. Maybe it would be a good idea to give me a chance with her?" Lucy suggested, giving Ryan a knowing look.

"Lucy, I can handle it." he replied, a little sharply.

His stubbornness was legendary, and it second only to the most stubborn person she had ever met—Jenny, although her stubbornness was not the only trait that she was well known for. Apparently it was contagious, and Ryan must have contracted it from the genius as he was constantly competing with her, and never willing to admit defeat. Lucy was determined to get through to him, though. Just as she had discovered a few minutes ago, this was not the time to let old flaws and weaknesses catch up with them. She intensified her glare, and he caught sight of it. He wasn't afraid, but he knew logic when he saw it.

He nodded and handed the child over to her. She smiled at Rachel, as she hoisted her up on her shoulder.

As the trio continued their trek through the alleyways and backstreets of ruined Retroville, they were being watched from above. On the rooftops above them, five alien soldiers spotted them and studied their every move. The Proxians did not kill an enemy without studying them—they were constantly after knowledge. Although, they never studied enemies this closely, unless they were a valid threat to the Proxian soldiers, and things were _rarely_ a threat to _them_.

As the three continued walking, a metal-clad trooper jumped down behind Ryan, and using a well-placed punch from his apparent non-dominant left hand, he sent the teen flying into an adjacent alley. Ryan hit the ground, face first, making him hit his mouth—_hard_—with a reverberating crash, and although the pain of the impact was intense, he turned around, and using his lower-body he rebounded, quickly getting to his feet, just as his alien attacker appeared in front of him.

Lucy saw all of this transpire, but it had happened, all too fast for her to react at all, let alone help him. "RYAN!" she bellowed, but she had little time to worry about her friend, as the four remaining troopers gathered in front of the two human females.

The aliens opened fire on them, and the hail of blazing blue fire was barely stopped short by a red energy shield. Lucy barely had enough time to react, and a single burst of blue plasma graced her left shoulder—the shoulder Rachel was currently situated on—and she was forced deposit the child on the unforgiving asphalt floor, as she narrowly managed to avoid getting her shoulder completely singed-off. She had avoided all of the incoming plasma, however, the intense heat in the air that the plasma had created caused her to sustain a burn on her shoulder, which singed away the fabric of her shirt over the slightly-burned skin. Her left shoulder now looked much worse than her right one, which had been burnt earlier that same day.

The residual burn was painful, and it made for a noticeable addition to her battle scars, but the pain was not enough to prevent her from drawing her two warp pistols, and with her weapons in hand, she ran to take cover. As she made her way to the shield, she managed to scoop Rachel and get them both to the rear of her shield—her _second-to-last _shield. They had cover, but she wondered how long it would last.

Ryan saw what had transpired, but he had his own problems to be concerned about. The alien soldier in front of him appeared to be the leader of the group of five, and he seemed to pick Ryan out as the leader of his own small unit. This must have been a custom for them, a leader fighting a leader—or perhaps he did experience human emotion, and perhaps he wanted revenge for his dead soldiers.

The alien soldier drew a metallic blade of some sort from the under-sleeve of his armor's left arm, and with a flick, the metal blade became surrounded in a field of erratic electric blue flames. No, this creature didn't experience emotions. He just wanted to kill. He wanted Ryan, not because he had distinguished him as a leader, but because he proved to be the hardest to kill, and the creature wanted to prove his dominance over this apparent new threat.

He simply wanted Ryan as a trophy, and killing him in hand-to-hand combat seemed to be the perfect way to get his prize. Ryan realized all of this new information in the split second that the creature allowed him to gather his thoughts. The creature assumed a fighting stance, and although it was very alien, Ryan recognized it as somewhat familiar. The creature was clearly far faster—and, from what Ryan could gather about the blow he had sustained, stronger as well—than the teenage boy it had just challenged to fight.

The creature pointed his blade at the teenager before him, and Ryan responded by stretching his arms out and assuming a fighting stance of his own. The boy could not help but get lost in the black, empty vagueness of his alien enemy's helmet visor. He wanted a fight, so Ryan would give him one. The human boy spit the blood that had pooled in his mouth onto the pavement before him, and he drew his own weapon of choice: a knife. His knife was somewhat similar to the creature's blade, but it was noticeably shorter, and it had an easily recognized insignia on its hilt: a blue atom, surrounded by swirling green vortex.

* * *

><p>Nick felt the hood of the bike. It was warm. Someone had just used this vehicle, and he knew it—he knew motorcycles. Sarah was just a few feet behind him. She caught up with her stepfather, and she stood by his side. She was surprised by his sudden burst of speed moments before, and she had struggled to keep up with him. Now that she was finally next to him, she looked at him incredulously.<p>

"…Um…" she began, but trailed off. Nick, apparently, had not heard her, as he continued to inspect the black-and-red motorcycle before him.

She tried again. "…Um… …Nick…?" she said softly.

Once again, she was left unanswered. Nick had circled the bike a full three times now, and he was scrutinizing it even further. Sarah took a deep breath, and she sighed—deeply. She had enough of being ignored and getting no response. She inhaled all of the air she could into her lungs, and she used every ounce of it in her next statement.

At full volume, Sarah yelled, "_NICK_!"

Nick was snapped out of his reverie. He turned to his stepdaughter. She looked slightly annoyed, as she blew a strand of loose brunette hair from her face.

Nick looked a little shocked. He had no idea that she could reach that volume. He was somewhat hesitant to respond, but he responded nonetheless. "…Um… …Yes, Sarah?"

"_FINALLY_! I mean, c'mon, Nick! I've trying to get your attention for, like, a full ten minutes! I mean, what, you just take-off and leave me there like that?" she vented her feelings, and Nick looked a little defeated.

"I know honey. I'm sorry. But… …This bike…" Nick replied, vaguely pointing to the motorcycle he was examining.

Sarah loosened her expression, and she softened up. "What _about_ the bike?" she asked him. She was calmer, and far more collected, but she still had a tinge of annoyance in her voice.

"It's still warm." Nick responded, seeming deep-in-thought, once again.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "Like, as in, someone _just_ used it?" she inquired. Nick nodded in response. Just as he was about to say something else, shots—shots that were distinctly _not_ human-made—rang out, and they were _very_ close to where the two were currently located.

The two ran to in the direction of the shots, and they came to the entrance to an alleyway. They looked down the passageway, and they saw that it led to many other alleyways, forming a sort of maze. They looked at each other, and after hearing another bank of alien gunshots, the two took off down the alley, running in the direction of the gunfire.

* * *

><p>Cindy looked at her husband. "Explain." she said. He nodded. However, instead of opening his mouth, Jimmy Neutron turned around to face the open wall panel behind him and address his faithful program.<p>

"Aria, open lab access entrance 17-R, please." Jimmy commanded.

"Of course, sir." Aria responded, and a nearby section of wall retracted to reveal a staircase, similar to the one his two children had descended earlier. He gestured to the eleven humans behind him to follow him down into the lab. Cindy eyed him seriously, but she nodded.

She went first, though. She brutishly pushed her way past her husband and reached the staircase first. Libby chuckled at this. Sheen smirked, and Carl and Resa couldn't help but smile at the slight sense of normality that Cindy's brutish and child-like act had recreated. The group of eleven humans—and one mechanical dog—descended down into the lab, and before they were allowed entrance to the large room beyond, they encountered a heavy metal door—one very similar to the one Cindy and her children had encountered in "_Lab Access Entrance 21-Z_"—and, although Jimmy tried to get to the front of the group and utter his command, Cindy ignored him and she spoke first.

"Aria!" she beckoned the program.

A square steel panel on the bland, drab, and undecorated metallic wall sunk into the surface around it and retracted back. In its place was left a view screen, on which a familiar feminine face appeared. The face singled out Cindy and responded to her call. "Yes ma'am?" Aria inquired of her female commander, awaiting the orders that the blonde was sure to give.

"Aria, allow lab entrance access to me—identification: _Cynthia Aurora Neutron-Vortex_—and eleven guests." Cindy replied to her program's inquiry intricately.

The holographic head nodded, and responded to the blonde's request, "Of course ma'am. Please confirm identity." the program responded.

Cindy stepped forward and plucked out a strand of her blonde locks and held it up to the nearby scanner. After a few moments, an affirming tone was heard, and a second scanner protruded from the wall directly below the first. Cindy lowered her head to the second scanner and held her left eye steady and at eye-level with the scanner, as it completed its analysis of her retina. After it was finished, Aria spoke, directly addressing her female master. "Identity confirmed. Please state the nature of your guests' composition and general physiology." the program requested.

"Eleven guests of a carbon-based organic nature. All are of human origin." Cindy replied.

Aria emitted a single monotone alert, and the corridor around the twelve humans began to glow with a bluish-green aura. The fluorescent light surrounded all of the humans, but they were all unfazed by actions of the program—they were all used to it by this point.

"Scan complete. Guests are as described. Welcome Mrs. Neutron, and guests." Aria stated, and as she finished, the large metal door slid open, allowing the twelve humans to enter the large main room of the Neutron-Vortex Laboratory. They all came on to the main room, almost in single-file order. Once all of the humans were inside the large, well-lit room, the large metal door silently slid shut behind them.

Goddard was left behind the shut door. He hyper-extended a data chip and plugged it into a slot below the area where the retina scanner was located, and after a second, Aria responded. "Override entrance lab access granted. Welcome, Goddard." she stated. The canine barked happily as he entered the laboratory's large main to join his family.

Jimmy went to the front of the group and turned around to face them. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a sound, his wife made a swift movement: she made her way, quite quickly—so quickly, in fact, that she could have been mistaken for a flying object—to her husband's side, and she faced him directly. Jimmy had his finger in the air, ready to give his briefing, but he slowly rested his hand back at his side, waiting for his wife to speak. She raised an eyebrow at his apparent self-assumed role as "leader."

"I _know_ that you're not trying to assume '_command_' of this group, just because you know the most about whatever the hell is going on—which, by the way, is information that you _deliberately_ withheld from _me_, your _wife_!" she chastised his actions with a loud voice, a finger in his face, and green fire in her eyes.

Jimmy smiled as warmly as he could at her comment. He had only grown to love her brashness and argumentative side more-and-more over the years. "Of course not, Cin. We're a team. I know that. I was simply going to give them," he gestured to their friends and family, "some integrally important information to get our bearings on and escalating, and already out-of-control situation." he replied, meaning every word he had just uttered.

He loved arguing with his wife; he loved how she challenged him, how they constantly became better at everything they attempted to best each other at, because it only made them stronger. Today, however, he felt very different. Today was not a day to argue. Today was a day to compromise, a day to work together. They had far too little time left to be squandering it arguing. Cindy remained frigid in her stance and in her expression. Jimmy was determined though, almost as determined as she was. He stepped closer, and she did not retreat. He brushed a loose strand of hair from her face, and while sweeping behind her ear, he whispered his silent words directly into her ear. "…And it was never my intent to keep anything from you. The moment that I discovered what I did, you were the first person that I thought of telling. I would never want to hurt you—only make you happy." he whispered everything he needed to in one swift breath, and she heard every word.

Her expression did not change, and she gave no sign of visually changing her sentiments towards him, but he knew her better. After he took a step back, she smiled as she relaxed her expression into a semi-smirk and chuckled. He smiled.

At the cue of Libby, who loudly cleared her throat, the two seemed to realize that they were not the only two in the room. The both looked slightly embarrassed—although they did not blush—and, as they scanned the room, they found most of the adults giving them knowing looks—especially Libby, who was drowning in her own intuition, and Sheen, who could barely hold in his laughter. The children were giving them adoring expressions, all except their own children, who looked as though they might lose their lunch at any moment—Jenny especially. Jimmy sighed, and Cindy followed suit.

"…Anyways… …What were you saying about an '_out-of-control_' situation?' Cindy addressed her husband, wanting to end the awkward silence that followed their "little-more-than-a-display" of "affection."

Jimmy looked a little stunned, but he quickly shook it off. "…Ahem… …Right… …Well, according to data, we are all in a very large predicament—one greater than any of us have ever faced before." Jimmy stated, his sudden change of tone brought back the feelings of dismay and anxiety that they had just struggled to let go of.

Sheen was the first to respond. "…Oh, come on, man! Whatever it is, we can handle it! I mean, our _kids_ have beaten the galaxy's biggest bad guys—and that's not even counting what _we_ did when we were younger—and you're telling me that we can't handle this! I don't believe that!" Sheen burst lout, and his unusually-high volume caused Libby to look at him with a very warning expression.

"Sheen, did you take you medication this morning?" she questioned her husband, who had been known to be problematically prone to occasional ADHD-fits.

Sheen beamed at her, knowing that he could actually, for once, say that he had, in fact, taken his medication. "You bet babe! All three pills!" Sheen exclaimed.

Libby looked at him incredulously. "_Three_ pills?" she responded, seeming astounded.

"…Um…" Sheen said, counting on his fingers, "…Um, yeah, _three_. That _is _how many you left out for me. …_Why_?" Sheen asked, now seeming worried himself.

"Sheen, where did you find those pills?" Libby questioned.

Sheen put his hand on his chin and rolled his eyes up into his head, seeming deep-in-thought. "…Uh… …On the kitchen table." Sheen responded, and although he was sure of himself, with every passing second, he felt himself get a little more worried at Libby's attitude.

Libby smacked her face with palm of her hand. "…Sheen?"

"…Yeah?" her husband responded.

"Those were Sam's pills." Libby replied, seeming to—surprisingly—be accepting of her husband's apparent air-headedness.

"…Oh." was all Sheen could respond with.

"Then, that means that Sam took dad's pills?" Eric asked his mother, while looking worriedly at his sister.

"But, mom, I feel fine. Dad has, what, half the dose of Ritalin that I do, and I haven't been feeling hyper at _all_ today." Sam interjected, and just as she opened her mouth, her mother glared at her.

"…Sam, didn't you almost get into a fight today… …Over _Ultra-Lord_?" her mother questioned her.

Sam seemed to shrink back slightly. "…Um… …Well… …Yeah, but I mean, that wasn't because of the drugs. She had it coming anyways…" Sam trailed off.

Libby opened her mouth to explain to her daughter that violence was not the answer to everything, when—just beating her by a second—her husband spoke first.

"You were in _fight_? …Did you win?" Sheen excitedly asked his daughter.

Sam had no time to answer her father.

"SHEEN!" Libby exclaimed.

"…_Sorry_…" Sheen replied, sounding defeated.

"Jimmy, would you please give them _something_ for their overactive selves!" Libby begged her genius friend.

Jimmy responded almost instantly. "Well, I do have some—" Jimmy started, but he was cut off by Sheen.

"Oh, come on! We don't need drugs! We're _Estevezs_; we _embrace_ our over-activeness! Besides, my fits _have_ been known to save the day a few times in the pas—" Sheen said, before being cut-off, himself—by his own daughter.

"Oh, look, _T.V._!" Sam exclaimed, as she ran across the lab's main room to the other side, and landed in front of a large-screen, wall-mounted plasma LCD display.

Libby looked at Jimmy, both knowingly and pleadingly. He nodded and said no more. He retreated into his own personal lab, and returned moments later with two pills. He handed the pills to the two Estevezs in question. They looked a little defeated as they took them, but under the watchful eye of Libby, they both made sure to swallow their pills in its entirety.

Libby breathed out a sigh of relief.

"…Okay… …Now that that's over, back to the topic at hand. You were saying, Jimmy?" Libby questioned her friend. He nodded, happy to be talking again.

"Now, to get right down to business, we have a problem—one that _cannot_ be easily solved. We are being invaded." Jimmy started explaining. As the genius started talking, Aria lowered a projector from the ceiling, and a hologram projected out of it—a hologram of the vast void of space, and in the void of space soon appeared a large fleet of alien ships.

"Is that what those ships were earlier?" Carl asked his friend, all-the-while trying to keep his daughter in a position so as to have her hear as little as possible. Resa saw this action, but she did not stop him. She would have done same thing. In fact, she _was_ doing the same thing—with Aaron.

"Yes, Carl. Those are just their _scout_ ships, though. Their scout ships—ships they refer to as sentinel ships—are the only ships that have breached our atmosphere thus far. They are here to observe us, perform reconnaissance, and report back to their command. However, their larger, far-more destructive _carrier_ ships are en route to Earth, as we speak. If they arrive, we will have _very little_ options left on how to deal with these new enemies." Jimmy replied.

"Dude, _aliens_? Is that it? Man, we've handled aliens before! We could take _aliens_ in our _sleep_!" Sheen yelled, albeit quite a bit softer than before.

"Yes, Sheen, it is a fact that we—both our generation, with the exception of Resa, and our children, once again, with the exception of her children—have dealt with—and successfully so—the problem of a hostile alien threat. _This_, however, is _far_ more dangerous, deadly, and dire than any of us could ever imagine. These aliens don't want revenge, or the town's resident '_boy genius_' dead. No. They want the entire human population dead. They don't want a _war_. They want an _extermination_. …And, from what I have gathered, and my data on their recent activities—over the past ten years to be exact—they will get just that, unless we can stop them." Jimmy explained.

"Well, what makes these guys so bad?" Libby asked. "I mean, how are they any worse than the Yolkians, or the Twonkies, or 'Grandma Tatters' and her old cronies, for that matter?" she finished her question.

"Well, for one, neither of those races _ever_ brought an _entire_ _army_ to Earth, with the sole purpose of destroying it. Secondly, if you were to take the general intelligence levels, advances in technology, battle smarts, and senses of logic of _each of those races_ and add them into one pool, thus combining them, then it would only _begin_ to amount to all that the these _new _enemies possess." the genius replied to his friend.

Libby went wide-eyed.

"Why did they choose Earth? What are they here for? An alien civilization _that_ advanced doesn't just walk around destroying planets, 'just because they can.' There has to be another reason." Cindy asked, addressing her husband.

"There is." he replied, and this time, he was very uneasy.

"…_Well_?" his wife responded, now a little irate, and readily awaiting his response.

"'_The Proxians_,' as they call themselves, are an interesting species. They crave power, simply because power makes the '_better_.' But it is _not_ a craving, which humans can understand. The Proxians are literally _addicted_ to it. They seek _only_ to better themselves, and as such, they sacrifice or _destroy **anything**_ that stands in the way of them accomplishing that. The general intelligence level of the _average_ Proxian is about _ten times_ that of some of the _most advanced_ humans. They have had a _far longer _time period to evolve than we have, and as such, their home planet, which my NASA colleagues and I have designated '_Planet Proxia_'—" at this point, Jimmy was cut off by his wife's remark.

"Oh, that's _real_ clever." Cindy scoffed.

Jimmy looked at her, slightly angered. She smiled, and quickly apologized. "Sorry." she whispered to him.

He sighed and continued. "As I was saying, we have designated their _home planet_—the first planet that they colonized, or the planet that their species originated on—as '_Planet Proxia_.' This planet is to them, what Earth is to us. However, having so much more time to live on, and evolve on said planet, this species began to over-populate and soon enough, they began to have more bodies than resources to be able to fuel said bodies. They were in a state of decline. With their amazing advancements in technology, however, they took to the stars, in search of new worlds to colonize. They found many." Jimmy explained elaborately. He paused for a moment. Then, he continued.

"There was only one problem: all of these worlds were already inhabited by living beings. The Proxians, however, rationalized that, because they were so far advanced beyond these other species, they were far more valuable than these other species. Thus, with this new logic, they began to wipe-out entire species, races, worlds, planets, and empires, and it was all far too easy for them. …And, with every battle they fought, with every war they won, they only grew stronger and stronger, and better and better at battle. Now, they have apparently set their sights on Earth, which is something that truly baffles me." the genius paused.

"Why does it baffle you?" Cindy asked, now genuinely curious.

"It baffles me, because although I have been studying the Proxians for ten years now, they have been exterminating species for _millennia_—possibly _far longer—_and at this point, as far as we can tell, they do not attack worlds, whose inhabitants they find _subordinately inferior_ to themselves. Knowing this information, and using _everything_ at my disposal—my inventions, my intellect, my colleagues—it has become painfully clear that the human race has fallen into that category within their minds, a category of _subordinately inferior _species…" Jimmy trailed off.

"So then, why would they attack Earth?" Jenny asked, finally speaking up for the first time, since her father's friends had arrived.

"That was my sentiments, _exactly_. But, I have come to one logical reason as to why they might attack us." Jimmy led the others on.

"…And that would be…?" Jake asked his father, in a now very anxious tone.

"That reason would be that someone—someone who wants the human race to suffer, or has enemies within our species—has made an alliance with the Proxians, and as such has turned their sights on us. However, an alliance with beings, such as the Proxians, would be _very difficult_ to forge, because the prospects of _emotional_ motivation—revenge, greed, envy, anger—would be _completely useless_ to convince the Proxians to join with you." Jimmy answered his son.

"Why is that?" Cindy asked, wanting to waste no more time in getting a response.

"The reason for that is simple. Over many years of evolution, the Proxian race has labeled emotion as a significant weakness, and as such, throughout their evolutionary process, they have excluded emotion from entering their mind. Emotion is _not_ a human invention—_any_ living being can experience emotions—however, humans are probably one the _most emotional_ species in the known universe. This is the reason why the Proxians have labeled us as a '_weak_' species." the genius broke apart his rant yet again.

"So, then, how would someone make an alliance with monsters like that?" Resa asked, alternating her view from Cindy to her husband, and back again.

"That someone would have to impress the Proxians with fact that he or she has something that they want: _power_. The Proxians would accept '_power_' in two forms—and, most-likely, _only_ two forms—from a human. Those forms would be in intelligence or monetary value—money—and I can think of _only a few _who fit that description." he continued his explanation.

There was silence for a time. Then, someone broke the silence.

"So, what do we do now, Jim?" Carl Wheezer asked his friend, and he seemed to look in Jimmy's general direction for any sign of hope.

"We fight. We have to." he responded.

Cindy smirked. "That's where _I_ come in, I suppose." she said, apparently gloating about something the group had no clue about. Jimmy chuckled.

"Aria!" Cindy bellowed, and the program answered, her face appearing on the large view screen that Sam had just sat in front of moments before.

"Yes, ma'am?" she replied, ready to follow orders.

"Bring all combat systems online, and prepare the '_Spectrum Suits_' for active combat." she ordered, and the program obliged.

"Of course ma'am. Anything else?" Aria asked of her programmers.

"Yes, Aria, stay on standby, please." Jimmy ordered.

"Of course sir." she replied and remained silent, but her face never faded from view.

Jimmy looked at Cindy pleadingly. She shook her head. "No way. We are _not_ using that protocol." she adamantly responded to her husband's expression.

Before Jimmy could respond, his daughter interjected. "What is '_Protocol: Danger Close_,' anyways? You never did tell us." she addressed her father, awaiting his response.

"It is a defense mechanism, our '_last resort protocol_,' to use in-case the lab was ever in jeopardy of being tampered-with. It prevents any data from being stolen, copied, or otherwise destroyed, especially by any enemies." he explained to his waiting daughter.

"…And, how, _exactly_, does it do that?" Jake asked, seeming to fear the probable answer.

"It destroys _everything_—the lab, the house, _everything_—but, not before storing Aria, and all of her data, on a backup portable hard drive." Jimmy replied.

"_WHAT_?" the entire group yelled in unison.

"Hey, don't look at me. It was _her_ idea." Jimmy said, pointing to his wife.

All eyes turned to Cindy.

"Hey, it's a _last resort_, okay! Just calm down. Hopefully we'll never have to use it." Cindy defended herself.

"I hope so." Jimmy whispered in voice that only Cindy heard, and she gave him a look that would have been unreadable e to anyone else.

Just then, Aria spoke. "The '_Spectrum Suits_' are now combat-ready. Should I bring them up, ma'am?" she asked the blonde.

"Yes." Cindy replied.

Aria did not reply with words, but rather, with actions. The floor of the lab, directly in the center, began to move, and a rectangular panel in the floor rose up, until it was taller than any of the humans standing near it. Once it was completely upright, it could be seen that the panel was a hanging wardrobe of sorts. In the "wardrobe," there hung six metallic combat suits, each bearing a different color—green, blue, red, purple, orange, and black, respectively—and all engraved with the couple's famous signature: a blue atom surrounded by a swirling vortex.

"_Sweet_." Sheen commented, upon seeing the suits.

Cindy smirked, glad that her own works of art were being admired. "Trust me, Estevez, you haven't seen _anything_ 'sweet' _yet_." Cindy replied to his comment, making his eyes go even wider. His daughter had a similar reaction. Jimmy smirked.

It was only before the battle, and things were already becoming a last resort. When the fight started, it would be a fight for survival.

**A/N: …Well... …That was, undoubtedly, my LONGEST chapter yet! Ugh, so many questions, so many answers! Please, stay tuned for the next update, and PLEASE R&R!**


	9. Fight for Survival

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron, or anything associated with said franchise.**

**_Author Apologies(s): _****PLEASE, read ANY AND ALL of the following BOLDED text! Wow. Well, first of all, it has been a long time. I am so very sorry for the ridiculously-late response/update. I was caught-up with real-life, for a while (Baseball, Track-And-Field, Graduation, College Finalizations, Etc.), and my FIRST thought was to keep-track-of, and respond to any and all of the outstanding message-conversations that I have on this here site—and update any and all of my existing FanFictions. However, just as I got back on this site, I realized something: I have been reviewing/revising/re-writing my FanFictions, BEFORE I upload/update them, but it was NEVER ANYWHERE CLOSE to how much I NEEDED To review/revise/re-write them! ...So, I STARTED reviewing, revising, and rewriting ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions, and just when I was about HALF-WAY through doing that (I Have OVER 200,00 WORDS Published/Posted On This Godforsaken Site! Do You Know How LOOOOOONG That Takes To Review/Revise/Rewrite?! VERY LONG!), and about to respond to any and all of my messages, when my life fell apart—literally.**

**Between psychotic breaks, episodic events, and metal crazes, (All Of Which Were Caused By My Life, That Just Happened To Turn Super-Sucky), I was, well, incapacitated.**

**You don't need an excuse. But, you do deserve one.**

**The good news (For EVERYONE) is the following. Writing my OWN ORIGINAL Books-Series (There Are FOUR, SEPARATE, UN-Related, Book-Series, And Hopefully, I Will Have A Literary Agent/Publishing-Deal, In A Year, OR Two! …On The SLIM Chances That Is DOES Actually Occur, Or Happen…), looking for agents, looking-into-querying, and FAN-FICTION have become my outlet! ...So, my depressing life will make for AWESOME FanFiction, with HAPPY undertones (But, My Stories/FanFictions Will STILL Have Character-Deaths [Well, SOME], Gore, Blood [NOT TOO Much, Though], Romance, And NO OOC-Ness, OR Mary-Sues, Mind-You!).**

**I have JUST finished-up reviewing/revising/rewriting my CURRENTLY-POSTED chapters of any and all Fan Fictions, and today is the day that I shall be updating ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions. And, also, today is also the day, that I will-be starting three NEW FanFictions, and they will be the LAST FanFictions that I will EVER start—unless, I decide to do a cross-over, between my DC-Comics-FanFiction, and my MARVEL-Comics-FanFiction (BOTH, The MARVEL-FanFiction, AND, The DC-Fan Fiction, Features A Teenage, Next-Gen-Hero-Team, So Having Them Team-Up In A Cross-Over Would Be Kind-Of Cool. …But, IF I Do That Cross-Over, Then That Definitely Would Be The LAST Fan Fiction That I EVER START!)! For a timeline of future updates you should know this: "_I Will NOT Cancel ANY Of My FanFictions!_" I WILL FINISH THEM ALL! …If you wish to have a better idea of how often updates will be coming, though, I have FOUR FanFictions that take precedent over my others, and as such, those four will probably be updated faster than others. You should all note, however, that I WILL be updating ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions! However, I am unsure, as to how long each update will take, so PLEASE HAVE PATIENCE! So, to keep-up with the updates, PLEASE, subscribe to me/my-story, favorite me/my-story, or message me and ask me to personally message you whenever I DO update, and I will HAPPILY do so!**

**_Author Advertisement(s): _****That's right. Ads. I have TWELVE—Count-'Em, TWELVE—FanFictions On here, that will ALL end-up, being OVER 100K-Words, and they will ALL be updated REGULARLY—HOPEFULLY—from this point-on. …So, if you happen to read in any of the OTHER FanFic FanDoms, that I write for, then, PLEASE, by all means, do NOT hesitate to check-out some of my OTHER FanFictions! Check-out my profile for more information (And Some Awesome Quotes, As Well!), and MESSAGE ME, if you have ANY questions, or just want to chat! I, contrary to popular belief, LOVE to hear from fellow FanFiction-Readers, as-well-as, my own readers! …Also, it should be noted, that ANY AND ALL of my Comic-Based-FanFictions, are VERY EASY to understand, and they are MADE for EVEN a NOVICE/NON-Comics-Reader, to be able to understand VERY EASILY, and things are explained VERY clearly in these above-mentioned Comic-Based-FanFictions, of my own creation.**

**_Accolades/Appreciation: _****Thanks for ANY/ALL of the reviews! I really appreciate them, and I take them all into account. Don't stop now, though! ONWARD!**

**IX. Fight for Survival**

The woman warily looked into her captor's dangerously red eyes. His ruthless reptilian slits stared into the woman's very soul. She wanted to look away, but she could not. Her knees ached from the large amount of time that she had spent on the cruel, cracked, concrete beneath her. Her hands were bound heavily behind her back, and her captor seemed to revel in her constant discomfort, and she hated that she was making him happy, simply by being in distress.

Her fearfully fluid-filled eyes watched the monstrous man carefully, as he stood in front her, grinning gruesomely. He stepped back from the woman, and he addressed her carefully, his words enunciated with the threat of death—or perhaps, something _worse_.

"Now, now, miss Quinlin. I do not want to kill you. It would be far too tragic to lose, yet another, pretty face, in all of _this_." the man said, gesturing to the smoldering city of Retroville around the charred rooftop that they were currently on top of. The woman squirmed restlessly. Her mind couldn't think of many valid replies. Her mind could only think of her daughters.

Proxian ships shot by overhead, and the man grinned more ferociously than before—which the woman consciously thought was impossible. His dark auburn hair was chaotically cropped around his slightly scared face. His smile was out of place. It was alien—like the invaders that this man had, without a doubt, made a deal with.

The woman averted her gaze from the man. The man swiftly snatched her head, by her hair, and he viciously brought her face up to meet his own. Tears fell freely down the woman's cheeks, but she avoided giving the man the pleasure of hearing her scream.

"Look at me, when I'm talking to you! I will _not _be overlooked!" he boomed boisterously, and the woman nodded slowly in agreement. He let go of her head. "Good." he said, easing himself to kneel down to meet her, eye-to-eye.

"Now, listen, miss Quinlin, I know that you have two young ones out there," the man said, signaling to the ruined Retroville around him, "and it would be a terrible shame to have to lose your daughters, and not even know that you lost them—especially in all of this chaos." he finished forcefully.

Betty cringed. He smiled. He leaned closer to the frightened young woman. "You may not be very smart, Bethany, but you are no idiot. Unlike me, you value your life. Answer my questions, and you keep your life. Refuse, and you forfeit the only thing of value that you have left—albeit not much value. You will forfeit your life. You may not fear death, Miss Quinlin, but you do fear _failure_. If you die, then you will fail. If you die, then you will never see your daughters again—or you will see them rather quickly, depending…on certain factors. Now, do you understand me, Miss Quinlin?" he enunciated elaborately for her.

Betty nodded slowly. The fear in her eyes was replaced by disgust. The man smiled once again.

"You don't like me? Well, that makes two of us. Now, I have one very simple question. Answer it, and you are free to go, free to add mere minutes onto your pathetically useless, fragile existence." he said, and she did not move. The disgust in her eyes changed, first, into confusion, then into rage. He grinned.

"You humans and your emotions are so easily influenced. Useless emotions, they seem to dictate everything you do. You apes have released logic, so logic dictates that you must _be released_." he stated simply.

"_Us _humans? You insane, sociopathic, piece of shit! You _are _human, you traitor!" Betty exploded.

He laughed, mirthlessly. "No. I _was _human. They cast me out, rejected me. They thought that I was inferior. By the judgment of their rules, regulations, and restrictions, I was deemed to be _less_. But, I wasn't inferior. I was superior. It was _their _rules that were _inferior_. They cast me out of the human race, because I was not human in behavior. Now, I am no longer human in design." he said, expertly extending murderous metallic blades, from each of his two forearms, as his blood-red eyes became deviously darker as they narrowed. Betty went wide-eyed. He smiled wider.

"You're… …You're a _monster_…" Betty said, trailing off.

He grinned again, this time showing her his two reptilian fangs on the upper sides of his mouth. She cringed. "No, sweetheart. I _kill _monsters." he said, laughing insanely.

"…Just… …Just, ask the question…" Betty begged him. He stopped laughing, and he looked her directly in the eye.

"…_Please_." Betty added. He smiled sinisterly, and she had to resist the urge to cringe once again.

"Very well, then, Miss Quinlin. The question, as I have said, is a simple one. Where, my dear brainless beauty, is Mister James Neutron?" he asked aptly. Betty looked into his eyes, and she knew one thing. He would receive his answer—one way or another.

* * *

><p>Jimmy and Cindy had just finished elaborately explaining to their friends, how to operate and wear their suits of armor. Jimmy hit a key on his wrist, and the bold blue armor that was securely surrounding his body began to retract, fold-in on itself, and slide, plate-by-plate, all to form a single metallic bracelet around his right wrist. His friends all followed suit, and their suits performed a similar actions, and soon, they were all wearing their normal civilian clothing.<p>

"…And, remember, the neural interface in the suits, will increase your speed, strength, stamina, and senses, _all_, by a factor of _one-hundred_, _but_, _you_, _personally_, will still have to be the working the suit. The weapons systems built-in to each suit is representative of each of distinctive fighting styles, defensive styles, and—in Resa's case, and Carl's case—their personalities, as well. The suits' integrated AI link-up will provide you with real-time information, important to the battle, as of the current time, and Aria should be able to access your suit's systems, should she need to, or should you ask her to." Jimmy finished explaining, and his friends all nodded in response.

Jimmy turned his head to his wife, to see that she still had her armor around her body. He raised an eyebrow, and she finally caught his gaze. She sighed, and she keyed her button, retracting her suit as her friends had previously done.

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "…As you can see, the suits are easy to adapt to, and sometimes easier to operate, then walking in civilian clothes, but they _can _fail, and that _should _be kept in mind." he said, summing-up Cindy's thoughts.

Sheen raised his hand.

"Yes, Sheen?" Jimmy asked him.

"Can these things fly, Jimmy?" he asked aptly.

"Oh, they can do _more _than just fly, Estevez." Cindy answered on her husband's behalf.

"Hey, I was perfectly capable of answering that." Jimmy said.

Cindy smiled. "I know. But you didn't. I did." she replied. Jimmy rolled his eyes.

Jimmy looked to his friends and family, and he sighed. He knew that they would soon face a threat greater than they had ever imagined, and the fact that they could imagine _very terrible _things only made that thought synergistically worse.

Jimmy opened his mouth to say something, but Aria cut him off. "Sir, Dimitri Vazov is on the phone for you. Shall I patch him through?" she asked aptly.

Jimmy sighed very deeply. He hated Dimitri. But he knew that he would need his help, and Jimmy Neutron _never _needed _anyone's _help. He knew that this situation was different, though. Dimitri was Jimmy's competition in weapon designs, and manufacturing. He hadn't always followed the law, and the instances that he hadn't done things legally, he had come into serious conflict with Jimmy, Cindy, or both.

He was also almost equally evenly matched with the Neutron-Vortexes in intellect. Almost. And he was Russian. He was vicious, violent, and brash. But Jimmy knew that he was no idiot. He had to have known that this situation called for their cooperation. Either that, or Dimitri just wanted to kill Jimmy, before the aliens did—which was actually a likely possibility.

"Yes, Aria. Patch him through." he replied, and the entire room filled with an anxious atmosphere, as Dimitri's voice was soon heard over the intercom.

"Neutron. Neutron, are you listening?" Dimitri asked in a light Russian accent.

"Yes, Vazov. I'm here." Jimmy replied, reluctantly.

"Good. Then, we should begin. I'll make this quick—_very _quick, as you and I, _both _know that the other despises this meeting with a great amount of disdain." Dimitri offered.

"Fair enough. What do you have to offer me?" Jimmy asked in response.

"These creatures—these aliens—they are far more advanced than _anything _that _either _of us has _ever _seen—even you. You cannot accurately deny that." the Russian said.

"You're right. I can't. Continue." Jimmy urged him on.

"Well, the smartest man to walk the earth is admitting that someone else is right? I am both astonished, and terrified, Neutron. These creatures must have more up their sleeves than I could have imagined." Dimitri mocked the genius.

"Don't start with me, Dimitri. And, yes, you are right, once again. You have _no idea_ what these creatures are capable of." Jimmy elaborated.

There was silence for a moment. "I see. Very well, then, Neutron. My proposition is simple one. I will distribute _any and all _of my weapons, designs, and funding to as many countries, and their militaries, as I can. However, I will _only _do so, _if_, _you _can convince them _all _to cooperate, and you can ensure that _any and all _of my weapons will be used to spill _blue _blood, and not human blood. I do not wish to start '_World War III_.' I only wish to end this current war. Besides, if I started a world war, it destroy all of my usual buyers. I'm in the business of war, Neutron, _not _annihilation." he explained his plan.

"I agree. I have already made preparations to have my own weapons and designs mass-produced, and distributed to any and all of the nations that are currently a member of the UN. Believe me, Dimitri, the world will be _very cooperative_. They have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by doing so. And everything is already at risk of being lost." Jimmy replied.

"Very well, Neutron. I shall see you in the field." Dimitri answered.

"Agreed." Jimmy responded.

"Your wife is coming, I assume." Dimitri snuck in.

"Yes." Jimmy said shortly.

Dimitri laughed. "Then our enemies have doomed themselves." he joked.

"Indeed they have." Jimmy agreed.

"Very well, Neutron. We will see how the geniuses fight. America and Russia have become strongholds. They must not fall. I will see to this, only if you will ensure that your own end is held-up." Dimitri said.

"I understand, Dimitri. I shall see you in the field." Jimmy said, and the line went dead.

Sheen went wide-eyed. "Wow. Dimitri is on _our_ side? That's a _serious _change! Man, this must be worse than you let on!" Sheen exclaimed.

Jimmy nodded. "It is, Sheen. It is." Jimmy agreed. Sheen remained silent. Enemies had just become friends. James Neutron and Dimitri Vazov were mortal enemies. Now, they were the greatest of allies, forced together by a new threat that loomed overhead, and threatened everything that they had both ever known.

Jimmy sighed, and he turned to view his friends and family, only to see that his daughter was missing. Jimmy looked to his wife and raised an eyebrow. Cindy shrugged. Jimmy narrowed his eyes.

"Cin, get everyone ready or full combat, please. I'll be right back." he said, and Cindy nodded in response, as Jimmy walked over to his daughter's personal lab.

Jimmy entered Jenny's lab, and he looked to the left wall of his oldest child's lab, where there was an open door. Jimmy narrowed his eyes, and he walked through the threshold of the open door.

Jimmy stopped, stood, and surveyed the room before him. Jenny was on the far side of the room that branched off from her personal lab. She was wearing a white lab coat, with a pair of protective goggles. Her hair was up in a ponytail. Jimmy knew what she was doing. She was doing what he had hoped that she would never do. She was preparing. She was preparing for war.

"This room was locked down." Jimmy said.

Jenny shrugged, her back still turned to him. "I unlocked it." she replied, still rummaging through some things.

"I forbade you from going in here, Jenny." he added.

Jenny stopped for second. "I forgot." she said, resuming her previous actions.

"You forgot?" Jimmy repeated, incredulously.

"Yes. I forgot." Jenny repeated.

"No. No, you didn't. That's quite impossible. I would know." Jimmy reprimanded her.

Jenny shrugged again. Jimmy sighed—very deeply.

"Jenny, I—" Jimmy began, but his daughter cut him off.

"Exactly. _I_. _You_. What you are about to tell me, is based on what _you _would do. It is based on _you_, dad. I am _not _you. I do not have scruples, father. You think mom pushed me too hard? She didn't push me hard _enough_. She broke me, and now, I am rebuilding myself in a way that will allow me to beat _them_—an enemy that _even _you are unsure that you can defeat. I will use _whatever _I can to do that—even, or rather _especially_, this room." Jenny said adamantly, cutting him off.

Jimmy sighed, shutting his mouth. He thought for a long time, and then he finally spoke. "You must have a reason for suddenly being so suddenly sadistic, and it is _not _the imminent destruction of our planet." Jimmy said, and Jenny paused for second, once again, before grabbing a welding torch, and igniting it, splicing something together.

"There is." she said, simply.

Jimmy sighed. "Take extra armor. And don't take any more munitions than you can carry." he said, leaving the room, while Jenny paused once again, only to resume her previous activities, with more vigor than before.

Jimmy returned to Cindy, and she and the rest of the adults had their armor securely in place.

Jimmy hit a key on his wrist, and his armor activated, and folded itself securely around him. Cindy turned to Jimmy.

"Where's Jenny?" she asked aptly.

Jimmy turned to her. "She's getting ready." he replied. "She's in the '_Rampage Room_.'" he finished.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "…And she didn't invite me?" he asked jokingly.

Jenny stepped back into the main lab, wearing her usual civilian clothes and two crisscrossing belts of ammunitions, weapons, blades—as well as a pair of her specialty "_Specter Shades_." She tossed two belts, filled with weapons, to Jake. He caught them, and he shot her a weary look.

"Didn't need to invite you. I know what you like. Suit up. And don't expect to come back clean, so don't worry about the spinning rims, or the shinning finish. Hurry." she said, tossing him his own pair of specter shades. The shades wirelessly tapped-into the user's brainwaves, and gave him or her a concisely clear view of any and all of the options and advantages that they had around them—exits, escapes, weak points on enemies, hotspots, etc.

Jake nodded, and he skillfully, swiftly, donned his equipment. Jenny tossed a single belt to each of the Estevez siblings. They caught them, and then looked to each other. The two siblings looked towards Jake, and he nodded at them. They donned their equipment as well.

"…Um, where are you going…?" Libby asked anxiously, but unfortunately, Jimmy and Cindy already knew that answer to that question.

"Out." Jenny replied somberly. Libby looked taken aback. "And Sam and Eric are coming with us. …If, and _only if_, it is okay with you two." Jenny said, addressing Sheen and Libby. They both looked towards each other, and then to their two genius friends. Jimmy and Cindy looked to each other, their expressionless armored faces mirroring their internal turmoil.

"It's your decision." Jimmy and Cindy said in unison, responding, both, to their children, and to Sheen and Libby.

"What are you going to do?" Libby asked again.

"Buy you guys some time. …And take care of some pressing anger issues." Jenny said seriously.

Libby and Sheen looked to each other, and then to their children. "We have enough time—" Libby began, but Jenny cut her off.

"No. No, you do not." Jenny replied adamantly.

Libby gulped, tears forming below her armored mask. "Fine. But, come back. Alive. Or I'll kill you. Understand?" she asked. Her children knew that it wasn't a request. It was an order.

Sam and Eric looked to each other, and then at parents, nodding. Jenny tossed them each a pair of specter shades. They both donned them.

Jenny turned to Jake. "Where is your girlfriend?" she asked.

Jake looked down at his feet. "I don't know. I can't get through." he replied sadly. "Why?" he asked.

Jenny smirked at him. "That's because she's too busy spilling blue blood. We need to find her, regardless, though. She has our serums. I'm sure that Ryan distributed them, and she would be wherever Ryan is, as it only makes sense. They're the two best fighters—besides us." Jenny explained, and Jake nodded.

Jake smiled. "We could just follow the trail of extraterrestrial entrails. I'm sure it'll lead us to her." he replied. Jenny smiled and nodded.

"Aria! Open the back access hatch to the lab, and move my hover-bike to meet us there. Make sure that it's gassed-up, and ready to go!" Jenny ordered, and Aria responded just as quickly.

"Of course, ma'am. Anything else?" Aria answered.

"Yeah. Keep an eye on the house. We'll be back." Jenny said, as a door opened to her right. A staircase led up to a second door, and to the outside world, where their hover-bikes would be awaiting them.

"We'll be back, and we'll be safe." Jenny said, turning and addressing her parents.

"I know that you will." they said in unison.

"We'll take the front door. Don't be too hasty, and always be vigilant of your surroundings." Jimmy said, and Jenny nodded in response.

"Okay, let's get out of here." she said, addressing her two friends, and her brother. They all nodded.

"…So, what's the plan, boss?" Sam asked Jake.

He shrugged. "Same as always. Almost die—but not quite. Then make sure that the enemy does, instead." he answered her.

Sam shrugged. The four teens headed up, and out of the stairway before them, and directly into battle.

* * *

><p>Lucy gritted her teeth, and she tore at her top, and used the shredded scraps to bandage her burnt shoulders. She looked over to Rachel, and she let out a breath of relief to see that the child had crawled successfully to her side.<p>

"You're bleeding." Rachel said, pointing to the wounds on Lucy's shoulders.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, and my blood is really valuable. Shame. Looks like they're gonna have to pay. Whaddaya say?" Lucy said, addressing the toddler. Rachel nodded slowly. Lucy tried her best to avoid wincing as she bandaged her shoulders. But she failed. Rachel pouted slightly at her hearing her moans of pain.

Lucy raised her weapons, and she looked directly through the shield in front of her. Her enemies had gained some distance, but they still remained separated from her, by the shield. Lucy took a deep breath, and peeked around the shield, leveling her pistols at her enemies. They fired first.

Across the alleyway, Ryan was embattled as well. And he was not winning.

Ryan was slammed into the wall—_hard_. Blood flew out of the boy's mouth, and the creature's foot flew into his chest. Ryan had no more blood to give, so he gave breath, instead. It rushed out of his body at speeds that he thought were impossible.

The alien skillfully swung his metallic blade at the boy's head. Ryan saw this action, and he saw his only way out as well. Using any and all of his remaining strength, stamina, and sustenance, he ducked under the creature's slice, and he lunged squarely at his chest, using his knife as a guide. The metal made contact on the alien armor, and a moment later, it cut through alien flesh, spilling blue blood on the asphalt floor—although not enough to match the copious amounts of red human blood that Ryan had lost.

The alien screamed in agony, but he quickly regained his composure, and sidestepped away from Ryan's next lunge, grabbing the boy by the arm as he came forward. The alien then swiftly spun around and plowed Ryan, back first, into the unforgiving asphalt below him. More blood erupted from the boy's mouth. The alien dove at the boy, blades first, but Ryan rolled away, and the alien stabbed the ground, instead. Ryan slowly, surely, got to his feet, and surveyed his enemy in his entirety. He had one injury, and that was the point that Ryan had to focus on, if he wanted to inflict any further damage.

Ryan quickly glanced at his knife. It was soaked in alien gore. He was thankful for Jenny's gravity-generator that she had input into the blade. It diminished the forces that resisted the blade's slice, to almost nothing. It was the only reason that Ryan was able to cut through the alien's armor so easily. The alien was extremely well-trained.

He was smarter than Ryan. He was swifter, stronger, and more sensible. He was used to warfare. Ryan was not. Ryan had no energy remaining. He was at the edge of his strength, stamina, and sustenance. But Ryan knew one other thing as well. He was not going to lose. He was not going to die—not here. The alien lunged at him, and Ryan ducked under his blow, as he sprung up at the alien, blade first.

Lucy emptied her batteries into the middle of her enemies. The plasma caught one, but a greater number rolled away, and avoided injury. They were all quick to return fire, just as Lucy rolled to the opposite side of the alleyway, in order to obtain a better vantage point. They were learning. They knew. They would not be easy to hit. She had killed one. Three remained. Lucy loaded her remaining batteries into her weapons, and she prepared to return fire.

Lucy looked towards Rachel, still behind the shield, and she silently instructed her to stay there. Rachel nodded, and she did so, but it was obviously a reluctant effort.

Lucy popped her head around the brick corner of the alley, and her enemies returned fire. She ducked back behind it, and leapt from cover, just as their barrage ceased. She opened up. She had no cover, and no more ammo. If she missed, she was dead.

Ryan stumbled backwards, and he spit more blood onto the asphalt before him. The alien charged at him, and Ryan had no options remaining. He would die if he didn't act. Suddenly, a thought flashed into his mind.

Ryan dispensed an energy orb into his hands, and he clicked the device. He threw the device at the alien as he charged, and the forcefield expanded, and made contact with the alien, before the alien could make contact with Ryan. The alien was deflected into the wall opposite Ryan, and Ryan didn't waste any time. He ran, full speed, towards the creature, and he lunged, blade first, at his head. Ryan's blade made contact, first with alien armor, and then with flesh. The creature writhed and screamed, as its life was ended. Ryan twisted the knife, and jammed it in harder. The movement stopped.

Ryan sighed deeply, and he removed the knife, as the alien's deceased body fell to the floor. Ryan looked over to Lucy, and he saw her passed out on the asphalt floor. Ryan went wide-eyed, and he began to rush over to her. Lucy stopped him, by giving him a thumbs-up symbol, from her position on her back. She was alive, and her enemies were not. She was simply exhausted. He could understand that.

Ryan chuckled mirthlessly, as he saw his friend's thumbs-up. She dropped her hand once again, trying to catch her breath, surrounded by dead alien bodies.

Ryan reached her side, and her forcefield disappeared. Ryan bent down, and he gently inspected Rachel's leg, bandaging it with scraps from his own shirt as he saw fit. He lifted her onto his shoulder, while Lucy inspected her weapons, and stood by his side.

Just as the teens were about to leave the alleyway, a terrible thing occurred. Aliens descended on them. Five new, armed, aliens descended from the rooftops above, and they all aimed their weapons at the teens, as they surrounded their prey.

Ryan and Lucy were back-to-back, both of their warp pistols drawn, and at the ready. They had almost no ammo remaining. They were exhausted, and out of energy and stamina. They had both lost copious amounts of blood. Their enemies were smarter, swifter, stronger, and more sensible than they were. And they were outnumbered. The odds were terrible. But they were used to that.

"…Last resort?" Lucy asked.

Ryan nodded reluctantly. "Last resort." he agreed.

Lucy and Ryan, both, dug deep into their pockets, and touched their syringes housed therein. But they never got the chance to use them. The five aliens dropped, dead, as the flash of five manmade metal bullets penetrated their skulls.

Ryan and Lucy took their hands out of their pocket, and they both looked at each other, and then at their dead enemies. They looked to the rooftops, and they saw their saving graces: American and Canadian soldiers, all equipped with weapons bearing the symbol of the Neutron-Vortex-Family—and some bearing the symbol of Dimitri Vazov's company, "_Vazco_," a large, electrically black "_V_."

"Sorry we took so long to intervene, but it just seemed like you two had everything handled—y'know, up until the last part, there." the leader of the soldiers spoke sarcastically.

Ryan and Lucy looked to each other, and just as they did so, two more humans entered the alleyway. Nick and Sarah came to a screeching halt in front of Ryan and Lucy, and Rachel called out to them.

"Dad! Sarah!" she screamed, and Ryan and Lucy looked to each other once again. Something actually went right. They hoped it would last. But they knew better.

**A/N: Well, I hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. On a side-note, any and all of you, wonderful readers/reviewers, should surely check-out my profile, and see what other of my publicly posted FanFics might interest you! There may be a few. If you have read a book, then the chances are that I have read it as well, and if I have read it, then I'd love to talk about it! Message me, if any of you guys have any questions, or just want to chat, about ANYTHING. I'd love to hear from you! Well, stay tuned for the next update, and please click that subscribe/alert button, if you want the alerts for updates on this story, or simply message me, and ask me to message you every time I update, as I would be HAPPY to do so! So, please R&R, and stay tuned for the next update! **


End file.
